Row New York Takes Over Ownership of Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse

Row New York purchased the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse on the Harlem River from the New York Restoration Project in spring 2017.

Row New York recently took over ownership of the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse from the New York Restoration Project. The rowing organization has managed the boathouse on the Harlem River since 2012 and uses the site for half of its programming, which reaches over 2,200 young people each year. Under Row New York’s ownership, the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse will continue to offer extensive access to the Harlem River and remain an important source of waterfront recreation for Sherman Creek Park.

“Row New York is thrilled to be taking ownership of the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse on the Harlem River,” says communications director Colleen Bailey. “We've enjoyed five years of running successful yearlong programs and summer camps out of this facility and consider it a second home.”

Row New York’s mission-based programming provides rowing lessons year-round to young people from New York City’s under-resourced communities. The program runs out of Row New York’s three boathouses: the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse in Manhattan, the World’s Fair Boathouse in Queens, and a new boathouse out of Paerdegat Basin in Brooklyn, Bailey says. Referred to as the youth program, for students in the seventh to 12th grades, it also offers intensive academic tutoring, as well as SAT and college prep.

In addition to its mission-based programming, Row New York offers a chance for children with disabilities to learn how to row. Its School-Day Para-Rowing program provides 16 weeks of land-based and on-water rowing activities to middle school students with disabilities.  

Row New York also provides a range of opportunities for experienced and novice rowers. The Scholastic Rowing League is designed specifically for independent and private schools and gives students the opportunity to row out on the water or indoors. The adult masters program gets seasoned rowers on the water, and other learn-to-row classes for adults make rowing accessible even to those new to the sport.

Row New York offers two types of summer camps: a novice Crew Camp for kids new to the sport, held on the Harlem River in Manhattan or the Paerdegat Basin in Brooklyn; and a competitive rowing program on the Harlem River for seasoned high school students looking to take their rowing talent to the next level.

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Main image: Row New York provides programs for under-resourced New York City youth as well as classes for adults and children with disabilities.
Courtesy Row New York