Photo: U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer this week called on the Department of Interior to help make Gateway National Recreation Area, which includes Jamaica Bay (above), more accessible to New Yorkers and tourists. File Photo.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) this week asked the Department of the Interior to work with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and de Blasio administration to help make Gateway National Recreation Area better accessible by public transit.
Schumer urged DOI to dedicate funds towards a comprehensive transportation plan to best connect Gateway—the 26,000-acre space that includes Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Frank Charles Memorial Park, Fort Tilden, Riis Park, Floyd Bennett Field, Canarsie Pier, Great Kills Park, Miller Field, and Fort Wadsworth—with existing transportation infrastructure.
According to Schumer, Gateway is located in the most densely populated region in the country and could attract “thousands upon thousands” of visitors from the state alone; however, New York’s senior senator noted that it is difficult to get to by public transportation. Schumer said that a National Park Service bus route to the park would help New Yorkers better access Gateway. He also suggested that DOI target expanded access to Gateway, which welcomes an average of 7.8 million visitors each year, for after-school programs, youth groups and other potential partnerships within the park.
Schumer said, “…the unique potential of this invaluable urban park is hamstrung by insufficient public access to all that it has to offer—from beaches, to camping, to biking, to birding, to fishing, to just plain hanging out in a rare and wide-open space.”
A DOI spokeswoman confirmed that the agency had received Schumer’s request and is taking it under advisement.
In 2014, NPS released its General Management Plan for Gateway, which helps parks managers focus on what is most important in carrying out a new 20-year visit for the park. Schumer on Tuesday said that moving forward with a transportation plan would help to implement the recently completed General Management Plan. Schumer urged the DOI to dedicate resources towards this effort this year and in Fiscal Year 2016.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
