Basic Kayaking Safety Tips

Dyan Gershman is the founder and a partner of Gershman Law, PLLC, a New York City-based boutique corporate law firm. She provides legal advice and support to her U.S. and international clients on a wide range of corporate matters, such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, technology and intellectual property licensing, and commercial contracts. Outside of work, Dyan Gershman enjoys numerous outdoors activities such as running, hiking, kayaking and tennis.

Participating in physical activities like running or boating carries the potential risk of injury, and kayaking is no exception. To avoid injuries, it’s important to follow certain basic safety precautions before paddling off.

It’s essential that you plan your kayaking trip based on your skill level. The location and distance you choose to kayak should be reasonable enough so that you and your fellow kayakers can comfortably complete the return distance. While beginners should consider small bodies of calm and flat water, popularity with other paddlers, and how frequently powerboats visit the area are other criteria when selecting a location. Furthermore, when using sit-in kayaks, ensure that everyone in your group knows how to perform a wet exit in an emergency.

Also, make sure you have a lifejacket, called a personal floatation device (PFD), a paddle float, a towline, and, if not returning well before dusk, a headlamp. In addition, before you leave, inspect your PFD for wear and tears, and make sure it fits properly. Wear your lifejacket while paddling to add insulation to your body, keeping you warmer in cooler weather, and to keep your head above water if you should ever fall in.

North Meadow Center Renovation by the Central Park Conservancy

Dyan Gershman is the founder and a partner of Gershman Law, PLLC, a New York City-based boutique corporate law firm. She has been a member of the NYC Bar Association and the New York Women’s Bar Association (NYWBA) for many years. Dyan Gershman is also a long-time member and supporter of the Central Park Conservancy, a non-profit organization that cares for Central Park.

The Central Park Conservancy manages New York City’s 843-acre Central Park. The conservancy employs over 300 people for the park’s maintenance, restoration, and architectural needs. The mission of the Central Park Conservancy is to preserve and celebrate Central Park as a refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life while also ensuring the enjoyment and well-being of all visitors.

The conservancy has a team of historians, planners, and other professionals who handle the park’s restoration needs to preserve the park’s original ideals while improving the experience for today’s visitors. One such project is the renovation of the North Meadow Center, located at the southern edge of the North Meadow on the north side of the 97th Street Transverse Road.

The North Meadow Center renovation aims to improve the state of public facilities located in the area by refurbishing handball walls and repainting handball courts, some of which will be converted into pickleball courts. The renovation will also improve park operations spaces, such as an unmarked asphalt area that will be repaved and painted with two pickleball courts, benches, and chess and checkers tables, as well as new bike racks and bottle fillers. Still in the planning stages, the renovation is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete, with construction beginning in 2022.

A Brief Look at Joint Ventures

Dyan Gershman received her JD cum laude from Boston College Law School. In her over 25 years of corporate legal practice, Dyan Gershman has helped numerous clients form joint ventures.

A joint venture can either be a contractual joint venture, meaning it is formed by two or more businesses entering into a contract to pursue a common goal. Or, alternatively, a joint venture can be established by forming a separate legal entity that is then jointly owned by the parties, which new entity then runs the business.

No matter what legal form a joint venture takes, it is generally a commercial arrangement that involves two or more businesses seeking to achieve common commercial goals, as well as share risks and combine resources. Two or more independent companies will either enter into a contract, or form a legal entity that is jointly owned, in each case to provide particular goods or services for a stipulated period.

Joint ventures often address critical needs of the participants in that the businesses can pool scarce resources together and achieve results that might have been more difficult or even impossible for one of the businesses alone to achieve. Another advantage of forming a joint venture is that the risks or losses that might accrue from running the business do not fall only on one company as the risks, losses and responsibilities are shared between the respective participating businesses.