The Ocean Breeze Indoor Horse Riding Arena in Staten Island, N.Y., was built through the Dept. of Parks and Recreation and the Dept. of Design and Construction (DDC) for the Helping Others Overcome Personal Handicaps therapeutic riding program that serves New York City’s disabled community.

The 5,800-sq-ft riding facility provides a year-round controlled and safe area for therapeutic riding, equipped with deep sand flooring and flexible fence barriers.

Prior to the start of construction, the project site was severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, causing the DDC to redesign the entire structure. In response to a revision of Federal Emergency Management Agency flood plain maps, the team designed a slab-on-piles foundation in order to raise the structure while the building’s mechanics were reconfigured in compliance with building codes required for a flood zone.

Construction was designed to minimize damage to the wetlands section of Ocean Breeze Park and meet new FEMA elevation standards.

“The Ocean Breeze Riding Facility highlights DDC’s commitment to construct resilient public buildings for New York City,” said Commissioner Feniosky Peña-Mora.  The riding facility is elevated 10 ft above ground to account for flooding in the event of severe weather and rising sea levels. This exceeds FEMA requirements set after Superstorm Sandy and is intended to offer access to the riding arena for generations of  New Yorkers to come. He also noted its strategic location next to the Ocean Breeze Indoor Athletic Facility.

Several measures were put into place to ensure the safety of the project team and its workers. DDC conducted weekly site safety meetings to discuss possible job hazards and safety issues that rose throughout the week. To assure no interference occurred between the different trades working on the project, DDC also conducted biweekly coordination meetings for all craft workers.

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