Croton Point Park beach access: Sort of, maybe, not really? [Updated]
Park officials have opened a hidden gate to Mother's Lap Beach known to some locals, but kept the main entrance by the new bathhouse closed. Is this really public access?
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Some victories are too good to be true, and there are indications that this might be the case with last week’s announcement by Westchester County that it would make the swimming beach at Croton Point Park (also known as Mother’s Lap Beach) open to the public in the off season. We reported on that here, and an announcement was also made at last week’s Croton Board of Trustees meeting, where a letter from the county was read aloud by our village manager.
What the county did not tell us, however, is that it had no intention of opening the main entrance to the beach, adjacent to the new bath house and close to the park’s large parking lot. Instead, last week, park officials began opening a gate hidden off of the boat launch behind the park ranger’s station. (See photos above.) While some local residents reportedly began accessing the beach—notably those who already knew about this gate—it might be reasonable to suspect that officials are trying to limit just how many people use the beach during the off season.
As we wrote earlier, the closing of the beach during the off season was a very new event, and Crotonites we spoke to testified to decades of strolls along these sands during the colder months.
We queried the park superintendent about this. She assured us that signs indicating the opening of the beach would be going up soon. But when we suggested that the main gate by the bathhouse should be opened as well, her response was, “That’s not going to happen.” She also said that parking would be allowed at the entrance to the boat launch (see photo above), but there are obviously very few spaces available.
Perhaps park officials thought that the call for public access to the beach—which had been free to walk for thousands of years, since Native Americans lived here, as local artist Ken Sargeant told us, explaining why he had launched a petition campaign to open the beach—actually meant “Croton residents who know about that gate only.”
But this is a county park, open in the off season to anyone, without paying. Public access normally means access for everyone, and that does not appear to us to be what is happening here.
So we will go back to county officials and ask more questions. Watch for updates.
Update: We received the following comment in response to this story from the Westchester County Communications Director, Catherine Cioffi:
“The Beach at Croton Point Park is an integral and historic part of the County’s park system, and a source of considerable pride. Our commitment lies in facilitating public enjoyment of this parkland and fostering access to the Hudson River.
We agreed to provide access to the beach in the off season. With the input of the staff that works at this location daily, and that has a high level of expertise, it was determined that the gate we have open provides a place for people to park with easy access to the beach. It also allows access to both the fenced-in part and the beach further to the right so park-goers can enjoy both sections. This gate is also close to the park entrance.”
Ms. Cioffi did not explain in this statement, nor in a telephone call with the Chronicle earlier in the day, why the gate adjacent to the bath house could not also be opened so that the public would be fully aware of the beach access. That entrance is easily accessible from the park’s main parking lot, which provides space for many cars, unlike the boat launch area which has very limited space.
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Comments policy: : Please be polite and respectful.
Every one is supposed to have easy access, not hidden access. This is very dishonest and disappointing. Thank you for digging into this. Locals have enjoyed the beach walk in off seasons forever. Once Covid hit, they used it as an excuse to restrict access to our parks which was ridiculous. Now it’s a fight to return things to normal. That shouldn’t be the case and this is why people don’t believe or trust the government.
There's only space for about 5 cars over by the tiny open gate. Why don't they just remove the fencing and position it around the beach house if vandalism is a concern? What about this makes sense? It inconveniences people and disrupts wildlife migration as well. The swallows used to swoop all over that beach. Deer wander. It was open space for generations. I do not understand their justifications for making it a no man's land. I worry that this tiny access point is going to be overwhelmed, and they will use the traffic issues that ensue to justify closing it off again.