I grew up spending my summer weekends on the beach (lost my second tooth - my first top one - while eating a buttered hard roll on Sandy Hook. Milestones, man), something that kind of sucks when you grow up and move to a beachless urban area. I mean, yes, you can go to the park and sit on the grass or a bench and that's at least getting you outdoors on a nice day, but nothing beats digging your feet into the sand and having a sea breeze keep you cool-ish when it's hot out.
So I give Jersey City major, major props for fashioning a park that's a little closer to the beach, even if there's no ocean access. There's a stretch of sand, complete with Adironack chairs and umbrellas, overlooking the walkway to the fenced-off Hudson - which you probably don't want to swim in, but at least you get to look at the water and get the breeze coming in from the harbor. You can't do anything about the crazy amount of helicopters that fly over the river these days (thereby creating a whole lotta noise and putting a dent in the "peaceful" factor), and I worry that once the word gets out, this thing will get crowded with people who can't stop screaming like jackasses on their phones or whatever, but man, it's nice to be able to go sit here for a few hours, overhear kids having hilarious conversations as they dig in the sand, read a book, and listen to retro-American Top 40s (today playing the music you associate with being at the beach in the summer of 1986, which RULES).
Plus, there are no WEBS/BENNIES, nor guidos of any kind - yet - and what can be better than that?
