It will be an overnight transformation for the borough’s
beaches when modular units up to 57 feet long are installed this month to
replace some of the comfort stations and operations buildings that were
destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
Those steel framed units were built in a Pennsylvania modular factory and transported at night just in time for the planned Memorial
Day weekend re-opening of city Parks Department beaches. The units are designed
to be permanent replacements for the structures wiped out by
The beach at Wolfe’s
in Prince’s Bay will see the most visible, immediate change: A pair of modular
comfort stations will be installed where the previous ones were located. They
will be lifted by cranes and rest more than seven feet above grade on pilings
that were driven into the earth earlier this month. The construction technique
guards against the flooding that destroyed the existing structures. Two
additional lifeguard stations are also coming to Wolfe’s Pond on the site of
the old ones.
Further up the shore, at
temporary units will be provided for all services in 2013, with permanent
modular structures to follow, according to NYC Parks spokesman Arthur Pincus.
Those units will sit on pilings nearly 14 feet above grade.
