Visitors to New York’s Jones Beach State Park has two new attractions for this summer season. A splash park on the boardwalk and the reopening of the Boardwalk Cafe.
“We’re really trying to restore the history, majesty, and glory, and introduce recreational activities, food and dining opportunities tailored to the 21st century,” Rose Harvey, commissioner of the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said, after the cafe’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Roughly 90 years ago, master builder Robert Moses had created Jones Beach, the pride, and joy of Moses massive state parks system.
The cafe’s renovation, and the splash parks creation was part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s $65 million renovation plan for the park, which is nearly completed and has already spent roughly $55-$65 million.
Other renovations and improvements include restoring the West Bathhouse, upgrading public bathrooms and adding boccie, cornhole, and shuffleboard to the western play areas, while keeping the mini-golf course, which honors other states parks by placing their signage at the holes of the course. The plan also includes restoring the original details of the Central Mall mosaics, and other infrastructure that has deteriorated over time.
the Beaux Arts Boardwalk Cafe originally sat at the location, but was destroyed in the 1960’s by a fire, and has been a hole in the ground since 2004.
According to the LiRo Group, the new cafe has cost $18 million and is designed to withstand hurricanes. Built on 52, 12-inch steel piles that were drilled 45 feet into the ground.
$2.8 million was allocated for the splash park, that encompasses 2,000 square feet. The new splash park has a total of 20 sprayers that shoot 85 gallons a minute and costs nothing extra to park visitors.
Harvey is also said in an interview with Newsday, that the parks department is looking at ways to phase out the use of plastic.