With its two enormous bathhouses, water tower, sand, sun, and more fun, Jones Beach has been an icon since 1929. However, in recent years, between the apparent lack of upkeep and looming budget cuts, it is hardly the great beach it once was.
“Much of what made the park special has slowly and insidiously disappeared due to maintenance and improvement procedures that failed to fully recognize the numerous components that contribute to the park’s significance,” said a 2005 report by the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities.
When Robert Moses took Jones Beach as his first major project in 1928, he transformed a swamp sitting at two feet above sea level to a 2,413 acre park for the everyday man featuring luxurious Art Deco architecture.
This included dredging sand so the beach sat at twelve feet above sea level, building an Italianate-style water tower, basketball, shuffleboard, volleyball, and tennis courts, bathhouses, and other facilities using two of the most expensive materials at the time, Ohio Sandstone and Barbizon Brick.
According to the New York Times, the report states decorative lighting was replaced with cheap fixtures, Art Deco-style planters were used as trash cans, reflecting pools are missing, and the West Bathhouse’s windows were replaced with “featureless” aluminum frames. Users on the Jones Beach website also commented the bathrooms are smaller and paint is visibly peeling.
The park, which became a historic landmark in 2005, is also a victim of budget cuts. In efforts to close an $8.2 billion deficit, on February 19 Governor David Paterson and the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation proposed a list of closures and service.
According to the Long Island Press, the proposal was met with angry rallies.
“No area of State spending, including parks and historic sites, could be exempt from reductions,” said Paterson in a statement on the cuts.
The plan, which proposes closing 41 parks and 41 historic sites and reducing services at 23 parks and 1 historic site, includes closing the West swimming pool and eliminating the Fourth of July fireworks at Jones Beach.
These wouldn’t be the first closures at Jones Beach: in 2009, the East Bathhouse and the West End 2’s nature preserve and surfing area were closed due to budget constraints.
“Much of what made the park special has slowly and insidiously disappeared due to maintenance and improvement procedures that failed to fully recognize the numerous components that contribute to the park’s significance,” said a 2005 report by the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities.
When Robert Moses took Jones Beach as his first major project in 1928, he transformed a swamp sitting at two feet above sea level to a 2,413 acre park for the everyday man featuring luxurious Art Deco architecture.
This included dredging sand so the beach sat at twelve feet above sea level, building an Italianate-style water tower, basketball, shuffleboard, volleyball, and tennis courts, bathhouses, and other facilities using two of the most expensive materials at the time, Ohio Sandstone and Barbizon Brick.
According to the New York Times, the report states decorative lighting was replaced with cheap fixtures, Art Deco-style planters were used as trash cans, reflecting pools are missing, and the West Bathhouse’s windows were replaced with “featureless” aluminum frames. Users on the Jones Beach website also commented the bathrooms are smaller and paint is visibly peeling.
The park, which became a historic landmark in 2005, is also a victim of budget cuts. In efforts to close an $8.2 billion deficit, on February 19 Governor David Paterson and the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation proposed a list of closures and service.
According to the Long Island Press, the proposal was met with angry rallies.
“No area of State spending, including parks and historic sites, could be exempt from reductions,” said Paterson in a statement on the cuts.
The plan, which proposes closing 41 parks and 41 historic sites and reducing services at 23 parks and 1 historic site, includes closing the West swimming pool and eliminating the Fourth of July fireworks at Jones Beach.
These wouldn’t be the first closures at Jones Beach: in 2009, the East Bathhouse and the West End 2’s nature preserve and surfing area were closed due to budget constraints.
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