Exercise equipment and a new kids court are being installed near 76th. Photo via Riverside Park Conservancy.
Just in time for summer, Riverside Park has been installing pullup bars and other exercise equipment at two spots in the park.
One area that already has the new equipment is at 103rd Street where pullup and dip bars were installed near the rings and ping pong tables in the area known as Hudson Beach. Donors Dorlene Kaplan and Lawrence Caplan were responsible for the additions, the conservancy said.
And another project has been underway next to the 76th Street basketball courts in the court. An asphalt lot there is being converted into an exercise area and a smaller basketball hoop for kids. That project is also expected to add a bottle filler, benches, and bike racks. The conservancy thanked the Parks Department and Council Member Helen Rosenthal for supporting the installation.
The Hudson beach area is really cool, one of NYC’s hidden gems especially in the summer!
Where is Hudson beach area?
The lower level of Riverside Park at 105th Street.
I’ve seen adult exercise equipment in parks while traveling overseas.
It’s a great idea and should be universally available.
Hey Paul I’m intrigued… Was there a particular location that stood out in this regard? I would also like to see this more here and am considering trying to make it happen.
Vietnam comes to mind, I’ve seen others but that sticks out.
And frequently used by older people.
In Israel all playgrounds are exercise and fun places. It is fabulous how they can create exercise equipment that makes going to park fun and healthy.
Dorlene, if you’re reading this, thank you so much for giving the Traveling Rings of Riverside Park to us.
I discovered them just a few years ago and have gotten so much joy and personal self development from them. I would never have sought them – I had to find then. Thanks to you, your memory and your vision.
Your comments are gratifying, Mark, and I hope they will encourage others to visit Hudson Beach (the lower-level recreation area at 105th Street), try out the equipment, and meet new friends. With rings, poles, bars, and a little ingenuity one can create an infinite variety of exercise routines that are fun, challenging, and effective.
Thanks. Good idea.
Dorlene, thank you for reminding me – it’s not just the exercise, which is fun and playful like exercise can (should!) be, like it was when we were kids. It’s community! Just as you have said, I have met dozens of new friends, as young as 7 and as old as not quite 70!
Great news……many thanks, Riverside Park Conservancy!
For anyone interested, here is a video featuring Dorlene Kaplan introducing the traveling rings at Hudson Beach (one of only a handful of public traveling rings locations in the world) she donated. She seems like an amazing and obviously very generous human: https://youtu.be/ATnb8IYXwMs
Thanks Dorlene, Lawrence, and the park! Awesome present to all of us!
And all this time I thought the pullup and dip bars were from Parks. They are not really. They are from Dorlene and Lawrence Caplan. Hmmm. The name Lawrence sure sounds like Larry.
BTW. The gear at 75th. That’s from a Participatory Budgeting initiative from the 2016 cycle. https://helenrosenthal.com/2016-funded-projects/
Yeah. Helen Rosenthal allowed PB to happen in her district. If she didn’t she would have been tossed out. But now she claims the spending as if she mandated it. She didn’t. Total BS
That project at 76th is because of Participatory Budgeting (PB) and the PB Delegates . It is NOT because of Helen Rosenthal. She had NOTHING to do with it. Stop spreading untruths! https://helenrosenthal.com/2016-funded-projects/
Dorlene, I want to add my thanks for your generosity and vision! It has made a huge difference in my life and the life of hundreds, and ultimately, thousands of people. Thank you!
This is great, but why are there only 2 pull up bars in all of Central Park?
Such a simple and inexpensive thing to add.