A Non-Profit Organization In Manhattan And Queens That Uses Rowing To Transform The Lives Of New Yorkers
"New York City is a place where if you can conceive of doing it, you can probably do it," says Tom Eichler, Director of Youth Rowing for Row New York. Row New York is a non-profit organization that uses rowing to "transform the lives of New Yorkers, regardless of background or ability."
Originally Row New York started as an all-girls program in Queens for High School students. The purpose was the same as it is now - to "provide life lessons and support students academically," Eichler explains. Since Eichler joined own 2012, the youth portion of Row New York expanded to Manhattan and Brooklyn and now includes boys, too. "At this point, we've taught thousands of kids from NYC. Almost all our graduating seniors go to college (98% success rate)," says Communications Director, Colleen Bailey.
Although they are open to all kids, there is an emphasis on neighborhoods and students that come from under-served areas. "We recruit in the fall at many Title 1 schools doing presentations, showing videos, and things like that," Eichler explains. For the students that display interest in the program, they come to a "try out." "At the try out, they meet the coaches and the coaches meet the kids. Then they get a brief lesson and try the rowing machine," explains Eichler. The try out is a bit non-traditional in the sense that they don't "select the tall or fastest, but the ones that are most enthusiastic." Eichler explains that they are a high dosage operation - the kids come every day after school and Saturday mornings so they need to be ready for that.
The reason why there is an emphasis on recruiting students from Title 1 schools is "there is an unfamiliarity with the sport and rowing affords kids life lessons," says Eichler. Two of the most important lessons are delayed gratification and working as a team. "You are training for an elusive task and make small, minor adjustments in pursuit of a goal," Eichler says, "and there are really only a few opportunities to test this learning." Teamwork is also extremely important. "You literally can't row if you aren't a team," Eichler explains, "The crew that blends together the best are the fastest."
The boathouses Row New York uses are unique. In Queens, they use the 1939 Worlds Fair Boathouse on Meadow Lake. Meadow Lake is part Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, created for the World's Fair. Before it was a park, it was used, like many landscapes in cities that are unfit for building, as a landfill particularly for ashes. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald calls it the “Valley of Ashes” and it is used as effective symbolism representing the land that separates the rich and the poor. Just before the World’s Fair, the city decided to purchase the land and turn it into a park. The Boathouse was built and the land, even up to today, slowly recovers from its former abuse. The fishable Meadow lake itself is 95 acres and has a variety of fish, including Bass and Perch. The boathouse was neglected for years and finally received a makeover around 2011 and has since been used for Row New York, as well as a “Sailing club and the Dragon Boat Festival,” explains Eichler.
The Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse is managed by Row New York sits on the Harlem River in Manhattan. It opened in 2004 and built by the New York Restoration Project, a non-profit founded by Bette Midler that revitalizes neglected neighborhoods. What makes it particularly interesting is that it is a boathouse that sits on top of a barge, meaning it floats. As it was originally conceived to help the neighborhood, it is in good hands with Row New York as it is used for their youth programs.
Rowing is a relatively small subculture in New York City. “When you think of rowing,” explains Eichler, “you think of Philadelphia or Boston, both of which have very historical and scenic water ways.” He explains that that the Harlem River, by contrast, “Is very industrial, so people turn their heads when they see us rowing down the river, almost saying ‘I didn’t know you could do that!’”
In New York City, where dreams can come true, Eichler hopes that rowing will fit more and more with the sizeable outdoor culture that exists already. “There is tons of access and tons of opportunity to experience nature in and around the city,” Eichler explains. New Yorkers are already an active bunch – from the joggers and walkers in Central Park to the hiking available at the Staten Island Greenbelt – and having a sport that emphasizes working together for the common good offered to people that have reaped enormous benefits from it seems like a great dream to have and support.
Andrew Malo
A graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Education, Andrew has taught for the past decade in Chicago, New Mexico, and Japan. He enjoys tinkering with trucks and motorcycles, woodworking, reading and computer programming.
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Row New York, teaching thousands of young people the sport of rowing, and through it the values of tenacity, focus, teamwork, and confidence.