Voices of Plumb Beach

For a four hundred yard stretch of Plumb Beach, a few yards of sand and sandbags is all that stands between the Belt Parkway and the lapping waters of Jamaica Bay.

Plumb Beach, a half mile of coast on the North Shore of the Rockaway Inlet, stands as the last line of defense between the water and the major thoroughfare of the Shore Parkway. Since 2009, erosion has been a major issue for the strip of beach.  Though restoration is necessary, actual steps for action have dragged since that time.

But members of the community like Ellen Hoyt have had enough of talk.
What Restoration? by KateTrafecante

Water on the sandbags at Plumb Beach.

Others, like Eileen Heinbach, worry about the fate of the Belt Parkway.
Close the Belt Parkway by KateTrafecante

The delay is due to the involvement of too many public agencies.  Plumb Beach is part of Gateway National Park, so the beach is under both federal and city jurisdiction.

But in a press conference on October 27th, Mayor Bloomberg announced that plans for Jamaica Bay have finally been formalized.
Bloomberg Plan for Jamaica Bay by KateTrafecante

Residents like Hoyt were at first hopeful at hearing the news.
I Love It Here by KateTrafecante

Plumb Beach, which some resident's call "an oasis."

But memories of a better time give residents like her hesitant expectations.
Now it’s Nothing by KateTrafecante

However kids playing on the beach recall such a time for Hoyt, who hopes that Plumb Beach can achieve its former glory.
Hope for Plumb Beach? by KateTrafecante

Children play on the dwindling shore of Plumb Beach.