Breaking News: Westchester Parks to open Croton Point's Mother's Lap Beach to walkers during off season.
A petition by Croton artist and civic leader Ken Sargeant, and persistent questioning by The Croton Chronicle, has led county park officials to relent on closing Mother's Lap Beach.
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As many Crotonites will know, last fall our own Ken Sargeant, chair of Croton’s Arts & Humanities Advisory Council (and organizer of some of our greatest jazz concerts) launched a petition campaign to reopen the swimming beach at Croton Point Park during the off-season months. The beach, previously accessible during the off-season to anyone who cared to use it, was fenced off this winter with a formidable barrier, in connection with the building of a new bath house.
Contacted by the Chronicle, county parks officials at first insisted that the beach had always been closed in the off-season, using plastic construction barriers and the like. This contention, however, contradicted the direct testimony of Sargeant and other Croton residents, who said they had been walking on the beach during the off-season for decades.
“As far as I am aware, the public has had uninterrupted access to this stretch of beach (during the non-swimming season) since the Kitchawank tribe populated this area,” Sargeant told us. “I, personally, have walked it freely since we arrived in Croton in 1991.”
Today, in response to continued questioning by the Chronicle and clear concern about the community response, Peter Tartaglia, First Deputy Commissioner for the Westchester County Parks, Recreation & Conservation Department, told us that they are going to open the gate to the beach in the off season from 8:30 am to 7 pm, starting sometime this week. The beach will be accessible to “walkers only,” Tartaglia added.
Tartaglia says that he “does not want to argue” with the community about whether or not the beach was accessible before this winter. The new policy will be in effect during the off season, but paid access will continue during the season running from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The department reserves the right to close it temporarily during storms or other situations where walking the beach could be a danger to the public.
“We heard you,” Tartaglia says.
We will have a more complete story later this week.
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Huge thanks to the Chronicle and Ken for taking this on. I moved here in 1991, too, and totally agree with his quote above. My kid grew up exploring that beach year-round from toddlerhood up until it was closed sometime during the pandemic. Very happy to have access to this peaceful place of amazing beauty restored to the community!
good work!