Life may soon be a beach in Manhattan

Manhattan is not known for its beaches. Picture / Reuters.

NEW YORK: The heavy weight of summer has abruptly fallen upon Manhattan, but its residents can at least grasp for one consolation: they are on an island surrounded by water.

And yet, just as quickly, they will remember that nowhere along its 51.5km of shoreline is anything that could reasonably be described as a beach.

There are a few spots that invite hardy souls at least to roll up their trouser legs for a paddle.

Stuyvesant Cove on the East River at 20th Street sounds promising but even when the tide is low the patch of sand, punctuated with rocks and slabs of concrete, is only large enough for two beach chairs at most.

For a day of sun and surf, the only option on Manhattan is to leave it.

You must make your way by bridge or tunnel to Coney Island in Brooklyn or the dunes of the Jersey Shore.

But it is a shortcoming that Manhattan may one day overcome. Just in time for the start of the swimming season, state officials are looking at the possibility of building the island's first bona fide public beach on a promontory jutting into the Hudson River near the newly fashionable Meatpacking District.

It is a project that may be years in the making; there are regulatory obstacles to tackle and for now the site is unpromisingly occupied by a whiffy rubbish collection depot.

Then there is the question of the Hudson River's unappealing reputation as a cesspool of sewage and industrial pollution. How many people would be willing to let their dogs swim in it, let alone their aunts, uncles and children?

The very fact that it is being proposed, however, is a testament to the success of efforts since the late 1970s to restore the water quality of the Hudson.

In recent years, the river has recovered to where its waters are teeming once again with striped bass and other marine species.

Even the fragile sea horses have returned to New York harbour.

While the water may not have the turquoise allure of the Caribbean, it is nowadays considered perfectly fit for swimming. Indeed, several groups dedicated to protecting the river and increasing public access to it have expressed enthusiasm for the beach.

"I'll swim in the Hudson now," said Carter Craft, director of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance.

Manhattan's drainage system would have to be upgraded before the beach could be built. And there is no denying that when large storms hit, raw sewage flows into the river. The solution would simply be to close the beach whenever there is heavy rain.

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