What else we do

A free walk-up kayaking program is just one of the initiatives we support aimed at improving public access to safe water.

Public kayaking programs

Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse has been providing free kayaking on the East River since 2010. Our program has grown from a handful of boats and a single-day program to a high of nearly 10,000 paddlers on the water in 2019. We also run kayak polo games and are the only ones in the tri-state area doing so for free.

Summer youth program

We’ve partnered with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and The Kayak Foundation to provide youth paddling activities to schools and camps since 2011. We believe that offering urban youth greater access to the water and empowering them with skills and confidence is one of our most important missions, and we hope that it encourages the next generation to be advocates for and stewards of the NYC waterways.

Coastal cleanups

Since May 2021, we’ve partnered with the New York State Marine Education Association to bring kayaks, instructors, and safety boaters to periodic coastal cleanup events in Kaiser Park, Coney Island. These events are held to promote community stewardship and marine sciences education to local teachers and their students, and our participation gives neighborhood students the experience of paddling in their own estuary, Coney Island Creek.

Heroes on the Hudson

Our volunteers served as safety boaters at Heroes on the Hudson—an adaptive maritime sports clinic for veterans co-sponsored by VA New York Harbor Healthcare System and the Wounded Warrior Project—for the first time in August 2022. Held at Inwood Canoe Club in Manhattan, this event gives disabled veterans the opportunity to try kayaking and sailing as part of a full day of adaptive sports instruction.

Events for NYCHA residents

In 2022, we collaborated with The Kayak Foundation to co-host a visit requested by the Mayor’s Initiative on Neighborhood Safety. Over 35 teenagers and young adults living in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings in four boroughs, accompanied by over half a dozen NYPD officer mentors, paddled with us that day.

Open-water swim events

We’ve provided safety boaters at multiple open-water swim events, including those held by Urban Swim, an organization that stages these events in urban areas as a means of fostering a relationship between people and water. Our volunteers were paired with swimmers to provide protection from hazards (such as busy ferry terminals) and help keep the swimmers on course.

Water quality testing

As part of our commitment to the improvement of water quality in the New York metropolitan area, we collaborate with a systematic water quality testing program throughout the summer season and monitor precipitation levels to ensure that kayaking sessions take place only under optimal conditions. The embayment at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 2, the site of our public paddling sessions, has consistently registered some of the best water quality ratings in the New York Harbor area.

2023 Impact Report

More than 5,700 people participated in our free public kayaking sessions between June and September 2023. We get visitors from all over the world, but the great majority are New York City residents, including people of all ages and from every zip code in our home borough of Brooklyn. Many of these New Yorkers have no experience in kayaking or other small-boat activities before paddling with us.