Central Park's Model Boat Basin To Be Drained For Multi‑Year Rehab

CENTRAL PARK — Hold on to your boats, kids: Central Park’s East 72nd Street model boat pond and its 1954 boathouse are about to undergo a multi‑year renovation.

The project, which will begin this fall and shut down the basin for the 2027 spring-summer season, aims to modernize and preserve historic infrastructure and make the popular spot more accessible to all visitors regardless of ability.

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The project focuses on three pieces: Repairing the water basin itself, reconfiguring the surrounding terrace and paths to be more accessible to strollers and wheelchair users, and restoring and upgrading the historic Kerbs Boathouse at East 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

The concrete water basin is leaking so badly that staff struggle to keep water levels high enough for the little model sailboats to blow in the breeze, Nick Koster, the vice president for design at the Central Park Conservancy, told the Upper East Side community board on Thursday night.

"The basin is leaking at a rate that it's hard to maintain the water levels, so it is not easy to maintain boating as it should be, as the boats need the wind to catch the sails and they need to be closer to the top of the water," Koster said during the Community Board 8 meeting.

The plan also creates a more accessible route from the East 76th Street entrance, with ramps, handrails and landings, and upgrades drinking fountains to accessible models, including a new fountain near East 72nd Street. Today, steep grades and stairs make Conservatory Water effectively off‑limits to many parkgoers, Koster said.

Inside the boathouse, cramped, non-ADA-compliant restrooms will also be completely reconfigured: the women’s room will be expanded, taking over an outdated boiler room. Additionally, a new men’s room and an all‑gender/family restroom will be built behind the women's room.

In a futuristic twist, the flat roof sections on the bathrooms will get green, planted roofs.

"Not only is that a great sustainability feature for the building, but as the building is visible from Fifth Avenue looking down towards it, it'll be a nice addition to see this green roof," Koster said.

The boathouse itself — funded in 1954 by Jean Kerb in memory of her parents — will be restored rather than rebuilt.

The copper roof will be repaired, non‑original window bars removed, damaged brick and stone replaced, and new windows installed to match the historic design.

The Conservancy plans to start basin work this fall, keeping restrooms and the concession open if possible, then close the boathouse and terrace early next year.

The entire Conservatory Water complex is expected to be closed for the 2027 season, with a target reopening in late spring or early summer 2028.

"We know this is a beloved area of the park, and so we are doing our best to make sure that this is offline to the public for the least amount of time as possible," Sandra Huber, the senior vice president for capital projects at the Central Park Conservancy, said.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.