Laura
06-17-2007, 03:36 AM
http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1181993467101150.xml&coll=1Over-sand 'magic carpet' at Midland Beach
Wheelchair users and stroller-pushers gain unimpeded access to shore
Saturday, June 16, 2007
By GLENN NYBACK
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Disabled Staten Islanders will be able to roll their way from the boardwalk to the water this weekend for the very first time.
Crews from the Parks Department and manufacturer Deschamps Mat Systems yesterday installed the first half of a 60-inch-wide, 400-foot-long beach mat at Midland Beach. The mat will allow people who use wheelchairs, mobility scooters and walkers -- as well as parents with strollers -- to get across the sand to the shore. At the shoreline, the mat forms a "T," allowing as many as 15 wheelchairs to stay by the water at once.
The Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant mat is located by the northern end of the Midland Beach parking lot, near the Sea Turtle Circle. It is scheduled to be completed today, pending delivery of materials.
"I think it's fabulous," said Dorothy Doran, executive director for the Staten Island Center for Independent Living, noting that disabled people had to go to handicapped-accessible beaches in New Jersey if they wanted to get to the ocean. "So many people would love to be near the water. This will allow them to get near the water and do the exercise that everybody else does."
Great Kills-based Ramps/Lifts for a Better Living, owned by Community Board 3 member George Fehling, was contracted by the Parks Department to purchase and coordinate installation of the mat, which at $13 per square foot costs about $13,000. The company also installed mats at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, Rockaway Beach in Queens and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn.
The Parks Department plans to officially unveil the mat projects at Brighton Beach on Tuesday.
"It's very exciting," said Lynda Ricciardone, the Parks Department's Island chief of operations, as she watched workers pull the mat into place and secure it to the ground with oversized, foot-long staples. "It gives access to the beachfront, which many folks haven't been able to experience ... and gives folks the opportunity that [able people] have every day."
The mats are made of woven polyester mesh, which cannot be set on fire -- and graffiti won't stick to it. The material is so durable that it has been used on helicopter landing pads and as "roadways" for tanks, explained Katie Taillard, a business developer with Mobi-Mat. At the end of the beach season, it can be rolled up and stored until next year, she said.
"Why shouldn't a person who is disabled be able to enjoy what everybody else does?" Fehling asked. "What we're doing is giving them a solid surface that they can roll over and easily get to the beach. It improves the quality of life."
Wheelchair users and stroller-pushers gain unimpeded access to shore
Saturday, June 16, 2007
By GLENN NYBACK
ADVANCE STAFF WRITER
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Disabled Staten Islanders will be able to roll their way from the boardwalk to the water this weekend for the very first time.
Crews from the Parks Department and manufacturer Deschamps Mat Systems yesterday installed the first half of a 60-inch-wide, 400-foot-long beach mat at Midland Beach. The mat will allow people who use wheelchairs, mobility scooters and walkers -- as well as parents with strollers -- to get across the sand to the shore. At the shoreline, the mat forms a "T," allowing as many as 15 wheelchairs to stay by the water at once.
The Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant mat is located by the northern end of the Midland Beach parking lot, near the Sea Turtle Circle. It is scheduled to be completed today, pending delivery of materials.
"I think it's fabulous," said Dorothy Doran, executive director for the Staten Island Center for Independent Living, noting that disabled people had to go to handicapped-accessible beaches in New Jersey if they wanted to get to the ocean. "So many people would love to be near the water. This will allow them to get near the water and do the exercise that everybody else does."
Great Kills-based Ramps/Lifts for a Better Living, owned by Community Board 3 member George Fehling, was contracted by the Parks Department to purchase and coordinate installation of the mat, which at $13 per square foot costs about $13,000. The company also installed mats at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, Rockaway Beach in Queens and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn.
The Parks Department plans to officially unveil the mat projects at Brighton Beach on Tuesday.
"It's very exciting," said Lynda Ricciardone, the Parks Department's Island chief of operations, as she watched workers pull the mat into place and secure it to the ground with oversized, foot-long staples. "It gives access to the beachfront, which many folks haven't been able to experience ... and gives folks the opportunity that [able people] have every day."
The mats are made of woven polyester mesh, which cannot be set on fire -- and graffiti won't stick to it. The material is so durable that it has been used on helicopter landing pads and as "roadways" for tanks, explained Katie Taillard, a business developer with Mobi-Mat. At the end of the beach season, it can be rolled up and stored until next year, she said.
"Why shouldn't a person who is disabled be able to enjoy what everybody else does?" Fehling asked. "What we're doing is giving them a solid surface that they can roll over and easily get to the beach. It improves the quality of life."