Riverbank State Park to Reopen Friday Afternoon

ALBANY, NY (07/22/2011)(readMedia)--

Riverbank State Park in Harlem will reopen for regular business hours on Friday beginning at 12:00 p.m. (noon). The park was evacuated Wednesday morning due to a fire in New York City's sewage treatment plant beneath the park. The park remained closed since that time so building health and safety inspections could take place and power could be restored.

Park patrons should take note of the following issues:

• The two pools at the park will not be available until Saturday, July 23. Water quality standards must be restored following the loss of power to the pools' filtration systems.

• State Park Police have secured and catalogued valuables and personal property left behind by people evacuated from the site. Affected patrons should call the regional office at (212) 866-3100 to arrange to pick up their property;

• Previously scheduled field trips for children in the park's day camps went on as planned Friday morning. The camps will continue next week.

• Hot water will not be immediately available in the park as natural gas has been temporarily shut off.

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 178 state parks and 35 historic sites. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connecting on Facebook, or following on Twitter.

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