Plumb Beach

A Forgotten BEACH from MY CHILDHOOD
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My wonderful mom, who recently passed, had taken me here
when I was about 5 years of age for a few years. It was an active
beach then… full of Horseshoe Crabs & fish & other creatures
that my little brother & I could catch, with a simple bed sheet as a net.
The creatures that were caught, we put into a bucket for a short time
& watched in amazement… we then released them later.
The bucket would get populated with hermit cabs, minnows, snails,
jellyfish, & sometimes unusual fish, like needle nose fish.
It was a time of wonder & discovery for us.
50 years ago & even now, we saw new immigrants fish a bit with
real nets in the waters… but our mom taught us that the water was
dirty & the fish were not healthy to eat.
I always specialized in creating huge sand castle complexes that
looked more like Sci-​Fi Cities that I read about in the Children
section of the Flatbush Public Library. These became more
elaborate as I grew older & once at Jone’s Beach what I thought
was a «professional» photographer took two pictures, gave one
to me.
It became a Horseshoe Crab preserve & we were always aware as kids
to avoid their prehistoric defenses. They were fascinating creatures,
& sometimes they would somehow flop helplessly upside down.
The poor things many legs would scramble to right itself, sometimes
in vain. We would watch for a time, kind of scared to approach them,
but we ultimately helped them out with a long stick.
My mom always carried a pic in her wallet of me, fishing with a fake
pole, when I was 5, at Plumb Beach.
I loved it there so much, as well as, my mom & my brother.
I especially loved & adored my mom, who struggled working
midnight to morning as a nurse and somehow found the strength
to also take us out of our dysfunctional home & malignant
father’s way… who later became very mentally ill & tried
to kill both his sister & my mom. I hated him for how he
treated my mom & was terrified of a beating. My mother
once wrapped her arms to defend me from his blows & then
we ran away for a time to my Grandfather’s house for sanctuary.
It was not easy, but my mom had a almost superhuman strength
to raise us, basically by herself.
Too bad, ½ Century later it is almost all but forgotten. The active
beach building which used to have refreshments & bathrooms, has
been long neglected & is a ruin now. I did take some pics of one of
the remaining signs that have pics & names of some of the local
denizens.
Based on the few people & cars on a weekend, & the few Unilocal
reviews…as well as. the abandoned look of the Beach, it is
well past it’s prime… and it still reflects me.
It reflected me as a young boy, all vigorous & future looking,
back when
I was 5 years of age.
Now, it reflects me as well, as I have past my prime at over 55 year of
age, and now try to accept that the ruin of my body spells a likely
early end to me. I have now have to struggle day by day, minute by
minute toward some sort of retirement. Maybe one day, I will like
some of my ashes throw into the waters of Plumb Beach.
I will upload the pic & the pics from over ½ century later on this
long forgotten & neglected beach from my childhood, as well as,
the pic from when I «fished» there as a joyful 5 year old.

Dogs are NEVER permitted OFF-​leash here at this national park. Please, promptly report ANY (any size or breed) off-​leash dogs to the U.S. Park Police at 718−338−3988. Pets running at large (at Plumb Beach) may be impounded at the owner’s expense. This is especially a concern between March 15^th and September 15^th.
Plumb Beach is home to endangered and threatened ground nesting birds, and is a stop-​over for endangered and threatened birds. Unleashed dogs of any size threaten wildlife and habitats that the National Parks are legally bound to protect. Off-​leash dogs pose a threat to shorebirds, small mammals, horseshoe crabs (eggs), amphibians, and reptiles in the federally-​protected nature preserve.
No permit is required to launch kayaks at this location, but you will want to go at high tide, so that you don’t have to carry your kayak really far. The parking lot is a city «rest area».
The port-​o-​potties were full and disgusting when I visited for a nature walk with the NYC Urban Park Rangers to see the horseshoe crabs mating on June 14, 2015.

I have kited on many beaches, and this one is by far the worst of them all. A friend told me that when I asked him about it, but I took his word with a grain of salt, since he is a bit particular about his kiting environment, however, he was absolutely correct.
You have to be very desperate to kite here.
— Beach is disgusting, I mean beer cans, plastic containers from food (with left over food), broken umbrellas, seaweed, plastic bags, car tires… ughh…grose, and DIRTY. It has all sorts of sticks, branches, etc.
— it is very small, and there are a lot of bystanders that are not aware of the kites, and have no clue what can happen while they stay right under your lines while you launch. I know it is a small beach and we all should share it but still.
— More than 6 – 7 people… even 5 in the water and it turns into a mirror image of the belt parkway at morning rush hour. I had my kite up, ready to go, and someone rode right under, then someone came in from the back. it’s absolutely no fun.
— Water is grose too, I was stepping on tires, empty plastic bottles, you can see the oil on the surface.
I am disappointed because it is really close to where I live, but I’d rather not kite, than go there.
On a south wind you have to start upwind to get out in the water, which is awful, and quite stressful, when you have to dive your kite over the heads of the amazed beach goers, who are fascinated by the sights of all the kites and are constantly swarming around. Had some older guy «feeling up» my kite’s bladder, right when i was getting ready to launch it, apparently curious to see what it’s made of.
Bottom line, If you have other options use them. Plumb Beach is really not as nice for kiteboarding as everyone seems to say. Or maybe it is just me, but I have seen other places and most likely not going to kiteboard on plumb beach again.

This Kiteboarding spot is quite good. Definitely my go-​to as it is not too far from downtown Manhattan. One other cool thing is the separation between newbies and advanced riders, which makes it a lot easier to learn and improve.
Unfortunately, if using the subway, you won’t be able to go there without a 10 dollars cab ride.