New York State has awarded the Town of Haverstraw $4 million in discretionary capital funding to replace the aging bathhouse at Bowline Point Park's pool complex, a structure that has stood since 1973. The grant targets a popular summer destination and important recreational resource in Rockland County: a Hudson River park known for its Olympic-size pool, water slides and sweeping waterfront views.
The funding will cover the replacement of the pool complex's original bathhouse, according to a report from einpresswire.com, which detailed the scope of the award. The pool complex includes an Olympic-size pool with a diving well and wading area, two water slides, a toddler pool, playgrounds and an accessible water spray area, the outlet reported. Bowline Point Park itself sits in the Town of Haverstraw along the Hudson River, and the broader property also includes two tennis courts, a pickleball court, a volleyball court, walking paths and a fishing pier, according to Hudson Valley Magazine.
A 1973 Structure Finally Gets Replaced
The bathhouse being replaced was built in 1973, according to the same report. Howard Phillips said the $4 million investment will modernize the pool complex, according to Hudson Valley Magazine. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Kathy Moser announced the grant alongside local officials, the magazine reported.
Moser said the state is committed to preserving treasured spaces and expanding recreational opportunities for New Yorkers, according to Hudson Valley Magazine. Governor Kathy Hochul said the park's swimming complex provides an affordable summer destination and serves town and village day camps and not-for-profit organizations, the magazine reported. That use by outside groups isn't hypothetical: in 2023, the Town Board authorized an agreement letting West Haverstraw Village's summer day camp staff and campers use the Bowline Point pool facilities and receive swim instruction and water-safety oversight, for a $1,200 fee that season, according to a Town of Haverstraw board packet.
Part of a Statewide Push for Recreation Funding
The bathhouse grant comes out of New York's Unplug and Play initiative, which invests in recreational infrastructure to give children and families more opportunities to be active, spend time outdoors and connect with one another, per einpresswire.com. The initiative's NY SWIMS program has awarded nearly $260 million to 79 projects statewide to build and improve swimming facilities, the outlet reported. A companion effort, NY BRICKS, has awarded $100 million to 30 community center projects, with another $75 million available for a second funding round, according to the same report.
Bowline Point isn't the only park benefiting from that statewide spending push. Pools and aging recreation facilities elsewhere have drawn similar attention: in Bradford, Pennsylvania, officials received a $600,000 grant to begin renovating the 88-year-old bathhouse at Barcroft Pool in Callahan Park, according to The Bradford Era. The parallel underscores how many municipal pool complexes around the Northeast are leaning on outside grants to replace facilities that have outlived their original design life.
A Park With a History of Storm Damage
Bowline Point Park's relationship with the Hudson River hasn't always been gentle. Superstorm Sandy submerged the park in October 2012 and destroyed its sea wall and walking path along the river, according to a 2014 report from lohud.com. Shoreline restoration work began in spring 2013, the outlet reported.
Town officials told lohud.com at the time that the shoreline had lost as much as 40 to 50 feet of land over the preceding century, a toll that included the damage from Sandy. By June 2014, the shoreline restoration effort had cost about $450,000 total, with at least 90 percent expected to be covered by FEMA and state funding, the outlet's report noted. FEMA separately agreed to fund a $380,000 plan to install a new sea wall along 800 feet of shoreline and build a jetty, according to the same lohud.com account.
Other Recent Park Investments
The bathhouse grant follows other recent spending at Bowline Point. In 2023, the Town Board authorized a $289,100 contract with Green Valley Group for tennis court improvements at the park, according to the town board packet. The board also approved a separate $325,000 capital project for those tennis court upgrades, to be funded from the general fund, the packet shows. That same year, the board authorized advertising for bids on a Bowline Point Pool Improvements Project, with sealed proposals due by 10 a.m. on August 21, 2023, per the board's records.
The park has also added amenities piece by piece in recent years, including an obstacle course in 2019 and resistance workout equipment in 2020, according to Hudson Valley Magazine. With the new bathhouse funding now secured, the pool complex that has anchored Bowline Point since the early 1970s is set to receive a bathhouse upgrade.
