Downtown Boathouse Bringing Free Kayaking to Pier 26

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This May, free kayaking will return to the newly constructed Downtown Boathouse at Pier 26. Until this year, the organization was located at Pier 40 near Houston Street, which does not have a boathouse.

The Hudson River Park Trust announced last week at the Community Board 1 Tribeca Committee meeting that the Downtown Boathouse had won the bid to operate at Pier 26.

The Downtown Boathouse is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization with a mission to provide free public access to the harbor in New York City through public kayaking programs. The goal is to encourage safe public use of the harbor waters of New York City and thereby provide residents of this space-constrained city with increased recreational opportunities. The operations are made possible exclusively through volunteers and public donations.

Graeme Birchall, who heads up the Downtown Boathouse organization said in a statement, “We’re delighted! “We’re happy to be at Pier 26, where we first started out.”

In addition to the upcoming Pier 26 location, the 500-member volunteer organization will also offer free kayaking programs at 72nd Street in Riverside Park, and on Governors Island.

Hours for kayaking will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekends and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the weekdays, Birchall said. There will be 200 kayaks, and the only requirement is that participants in the walk-up program know how to swim. Young children must also be accompanied by a guardian.

There are also plans for the new Pier 26 Boathouse Restaurant which is slated to open in Summer, 2015.

For more information on Downtown Boathouse Organization visit their website

http://www.downtownboathouse.org/

—Alejandro Ramos