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Free Kayaking to Launch July 4 on TriBeCa's Pier 26

 Downtown Boathouse will be operating their free kayaking staring July 4.
Free Kayaking at Pier 26
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TRIBECA — Free kayaking is finally launching at Pier 26.

On July 4, Downtown Boathouse will begin offering kayaking from its new boathouse on the TriBeCa pier, said Graeme Birchall, who runs the Downtown Boathouse.

The organization was originally hoping to open the boathouse in mid-May, but it took longer than expected to get permits from the Department of Buildings and the Fire Department, Birchall said.

“We’ve finally gotten the clearance to go ahead, though it’s taken some time,” said Birchall.  “We’re very happy, very pleased to be back at Pier 26.”

The Downtown Boathouse had been displaced for several years to the West Village’s Pier 40, which doesn’t have an actual boathouse, while Pier 26 and its new boathouse were under construction.

Kayaking will continue at Pier 40 this summer, but it will be run by a different operator and will no longer be free.

Downtown Boathouse, a 500-member volunteer organization, also runs free kayaking programs at 72nd Street in Riverside Park and on Governors Island.

Hours for kayaking at Pier 26 will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, Birchall said. There will be 200 kayaks, and the only requirement is that participants know how to swim. Young children must be accompanied by a guardian.

Next summer, a restaurant will open in the Pier 26 boathouse. The Hudson River Park Trust hasn’t announced who will run the waterfront eatery.