Residents in the Rockaways are getting more access to Jamaica Bay.   A project is underway to open up a new kayak launch there.  As NY1's Gene Apodaca reports the project breathes new life to a park that has sat idle for years.

The swans swimming in Jamaica Bay will soon have some company. 

The parks department has reached an agreement with the city-funded non-profit organization Gateway Bike and Boathouse.   

The organization will provide free kayaking and lessons on a piece of parkland at Beach 88^th street and Beach Channel Drive in the Rockaways.  

It will be only the third public access point to Jamaica Bay on the peninsula.

“It means taking full advantage the assets around us and fresh air and exercise and good health,“ said Rick Horan, Executive Director of Bike and Boathouse.

The more than one acre site has been closed to the public for years. At one point used as a staging area for a massive sewer construction project.  Hurricane Sandy further delayed its development. 

However, last summer the site was returned to the parks department, clearing the way for public use again.  The American Littoral Society teamed up with the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy to clean and prep the site.

“That included working throughout August and September removing invasive species putting in a trail, wood chips and a weed barrier so that the site can be prepared and ready,“ said Alex Zablocki, Executive Director of Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy.

With the help of Boy Scout Troop 298 from Brooklyn, two shipping containers were outfitted to serve as temporary boathouses. The hope is that a permanent boathouse eventually can be built.

Currently, there are three kayaks at the site but organizers hope to have 18 by the time they launch next spring.

“I think it’s going to be great for the community give a lot of people a place to go enjoy this beautiful bay,” said nearby resident, Bryan Ecock.

In the coming weeks the community will be asked to help design the site.  Officials hope that by giving people more access to the water they will, in the long run, help improve the condition of the bay.

“The more people know about the bay the more apt they are to take care of it,“ said Horan.