If you haven’t embraced the concept of crowdfunding yet, you might reconsider after reading this CNET story about a proposal to construct a public beach on a massive barge that will float along the Hudson River around Manhattan Island.
Dubbed CityBeach NYC, the project is described as “a park, a community project, a social space, a creative achievement in design, and a platform to create possibility” — and it’s being funded entirely by online supporters who can donate as little as $10 to as much as $5,000 (or more, we presume) to pay for the $24 million needed for construction. The beach will consist of 1,200 cubic yards of sand, complete with more than 200 beach chairs, as well as attractions and amenities such as bars and restaurants, a surf shop and a kids’ science lab, as explained in this video.
CityBeach NYC is the brainchild of designer Blayne Ross, who unabashedly claims that “Manhattan needs a beach.” And why not? As the CityBeach NYC website explains, “Even if you don’t go to the beach, you are investing in your neighbors, and that’s what we do in New York: support each other.”