Upgrading Jones Beach

“You haven’t been to the new Jones Beach,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference on May 26, when he announced $36 million worth of improvements to the park. The governor had just finished touring Jones Beach State Park’s newest renovations and cutting the ribbon for the brand new Taste NY Cafe.

The cafe is located in the West Bathhouse. Taste NY is a vendor that sells homegrown food, wine and beer in 25 locations. It features items from food and beverage producers in New York state, and helps promote those businesses.

According to Cuomo and the New York State Parks Department, there are enhancements from one end of Jones Beach to the other. They include a redesigned main pool at the West Bathhouse that will offer free swimming programs; the new Brazilian-wood boardwalk, designed to be nearly splinter-free; and renovations to the Central Mall.

A new dining hall, upstairs from the Taste NY Cafe, should be completed in 2018, according to State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey.

The Parks Department also announced that the annual Fourth of July fireworks show is back for a second year after its seven-year hiatus. Additionally, Cuomo spoke about a new smartphone app that will allow beachgoers to see which fields are open. The app’s name has not been revealed, but it should be up and running this summer. Cuomo said he was hopeful that the app would eliminate the hassles of finding a parking space.

The upgrades have been in the works since Cuomo’s 2011 initiative to revitalize the state’s parks, a commitment that lasts through 2020. The projects that are part of the plan will cost a total of $900 million, with $65 million going to Jones Beach.

When it opened in 1929, buildings in the 6.5-mile park featured art deco architecture, which paid great attention to detail. At the beach’s peak in the 1960s, Cuomo said, it welcomed 14 million visitors a year. In the past 20 years, however, the park has not received the attention it deserves, he said.

“This is really a remarkable facility, and we let it degrade for decades,” he said. “My generation saw the buildings deteriorating, saw the buildings closing, saw the boardwalks breaking, and it was sad.”

Harvey agreed that Jones Beach had been neglected, and thanked Cuomo for his investment in the park.

According to the governor, this is the largest rebuilding project in the Parks Department’s history. When it is completed, he said, Jones Beach will be restored to its original grandeur. The new Taste NY cafe is the latest example of that.

“As a citizen of New York, with three children,” Cuomo said, “I think we honor our responsibility by leaving this place a little bit better than we found it.”