[title]
Did you know Manhattan has a beach? Yes, a real one—with 1,200 tons of sand, Adirondack chairs and sweeping views of the Hudson River. The only catch: You can’t swim in it.
Opened in late 2023, the Gansevoort Peninsula is the newest addition to Hudson River Park, carved out of a once-industrial zone between Gansevoort Street and Little West 12th. The five-acre space boasts boardwalks, a salt marsh, public art, picnic spots and yes, a beach. But swimming remains firmly off-limits thanks to New York’s aging sewer infrastructure.
Here’s the dirty truth: Two nearby sewer outflows dump stormwater and sewage directly into the Hudson during heavy rain, sometimes with as little as half an inch of precipitation. That runoff carries everything from bacteria to pharmaceuticals, rendering the water unfit for humans about one in every three days, according to environmental watchdog Riverkeeper.
“It's our dream that Gansevoort Beach would be the beginning,” Michael Dulong, the legal director at Riverkeeper, told Gothamist. “It would provide a model to open up beaches elsewhere throughout the city.”
The group has been patrolling New York’s waterways on a boat named Fletcher, sampling water at over 200 locations between May and October. They’re pushing for a common-sense policy: Let people swim when the water’s clean, just like we already do at city beaches after rainfall.
Their main argument is that Gansevoort is uniquely positioned. It’s sheltered from boat traffic and strong currents, sits in a high-foot-traffic neighborhood and has infrastructure already in place. Testing by the Billion Oyster Project found the water safe in over half the samples collected last summer—but that other half underscores the risk.
For now, visitors can soak up the scene from dry land, stroll through the peninsula’s boardwalks, or dip their toes from a shallow ramp. And there’s still plenty to enjoy: a pine grove, a dog run, a fitness area and Day’s End, a monumental sculpture by David Hammons that riffs on Gordon Matta-Clark’s original 1975 piece.
As for actual swimming, that’ll require a massive overhaul of the city’s sewer system—one with an estimated $36 billion price tag, according to Gothamist—but advocates say the dream is worth it.
“Imagine if you could just walk to where your street meets the water and jump in the water and if it were safe,” Dulong said, “A place where you could recreate, where you could lie on the beach.”