Dear Jacob Riis Beach, please never change
—3 min read—
Manhattan's skyline seen from Jacob Riis’s parking lot at sunset. Yep, New York will do you like that. Photo by Ximena Del Cerro.
Aug 31st. 2025
Jacob Riis Park
1-57 Rockaway Beach Blvd
NY 11694
Hi Hot-stuff!!!!
It’s sundown at Riis, the light has that bruised, coppery tint that makes everything look like it’s been dipped in memory. The lifeguard chairs are empty now, leaning like tall ghosts. Families are marching out with closed umbrellas on their shoulders.
The stubborn are still out in the water, daring the tide. They are either the outdoorsy athletics or the nostalgic, wanting the day to last longer. Of course, the rainbow flags are still in place, and so am I.
I had to write to you urgently– got some tea. The Riis Park Bathhouse revitalization… still looks pretty behind. No sign of the restaurants, no bar, pool who? 28 hotel rooms… Still a lost-in-time relic, just covered with scaffolding all summer long. Can you believe it? It was supposed to be done last year, now they low key say summer of 2027, but I dont see it. Anyway, once it happens, this place is going to change a lot. I hope they keep the building’s 1932 greatness, but will the vibes at this beach change? Tbd.
I was processing that and suddenly, I thought of you when this woman rolled past on a bike with a speaker balanced on her head, blasting disco mad loud. The gulls lost it. It reminded me of that time here when we proved this beach dj had trained the seagulls, because they always hit the drop on cue.
A New York State law banned nude sunbathing at Jacob Riis in 1983, but sometimes being in Jacob Riis Park feels like it’s 1982…. Photo by Ximena Del Cerro
I keep expecting to see you, as if you just went for a walk and will return in five minutes with a story about the most random thing you just saw happening.
Vendors are packing up their coolers with that slow resignation unique to New Yorkers who’ve sold enough to pay the rent but not enough to dream. Yet, they are so kind and the food here is still consistently good. I bought a hot dog at Spectro, @spectro_ny, and felt like the guy had just handed me a passport out of the city.
There is a band of five gray-haired men wearing Hawaiian shirts playing rock classics at the concessions, @riisbeach.nyc. Of course, NJ’s finest, Bon Jovi, my fav. A very cool teenage-looking kid who was selling the soft serve handed me mine like I was part of his club. Now I’m full of junk food and joy, but it's gonna get chilly, so I gotta jump on that bus.
Bye for now, my dearest. New York insists on loving you still, that gurl won’t shut up about you, boe. So come visit soon! And remember, it is still summer till Sept. 22.
lov.
—Beach bae
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