Crowds And Traffic Expected For July 10th Celebration

The National Park Service, Gateway National Recreation Area announced that Sunday, July 10 is expected to be an exceptionally heavy visitation day at Jacob Riis Park, as officials have learned that residents of Brooklyn and Queens, will commemorate Guyanese Independence Day at Riis Park.

Approximately 25,000-30,000 members of New York’s Guyanese American community are expected to gather at Jacob Riis Park, similar to the crowd that attended last July. Due to the projected volume of cars and visitors, the Marine Parkway Bridge and the park will likely be congested.

Park Service officials have met with representatives of the Guyanese American community in an attempt to reduce the impacts from such a large group descending on the park, as well as the roads and bridges infrastructure. As an alternative, Gateway officials offered the use of Floyd Bennett Field, north of the bridge on Flatbush Avenue on July 9 to help reduce the number of visitors to Riis Park on Sunday. While some members of the Guyanese American community have elected to participate in Saturday’s event at Floyd Bennett Field, others will celebrate on Sunday as planned.

In anticipation of the anticiapted congestion, the park has made plans to manage the crowds in Riis Park and is working with local authorities to manage the situation outside the park. Those who use the Rockaway Peninsula or Marine Parkway Bridge should expect additional traffic and heavy delays.

“We have met with representatives from the Guy-anese American community and have made every effort to help reduce the amount of congestion on Sunday, July 10 by offering them alternatives,” said Acting Jamaica Bay Unit Superintendent John Hnedak.

He added, “The park is open on a first come, first served basis, and we will accommodate as many cars as our parking lot can hold. Once we reach capacity, the lot will be closed.”

For visitor information on Jacob Riis Park, call 718-318-4300. Floyd Bennett Field visitor information can be obtained by calling 718-338-3799.