NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Members of the City Council want to open New York City beaches for swimming, and they've released a list of recommendations they'd like to see implemented to make sure residents can safely access beaches as the summer months get underway amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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Mayor Bill de Blasio stressed at recent press conferences that swimming is currently prohibited at beaches in the city. People are allowed to sit and walk on the sand and even go into the water up to their ankles, but only surfers are allowed to swim since there aren't lifeguards on duty.
Beaches have also been limited to 50 percent capacity, and social distancing ambassadors are patrolling beaches with members of the Parks Department.
Access to city beaches isn't just a summer fun issue. It is an equity issue and a public health issue. All New Yorkers, not just those wealthy enough to travel out of the city, deserve access to the beach this summer. 1/3
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) May 23, 2020
On Saturday, Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Council members representing neighborhoods with city beaches released "guidelines and recommendations for the city to open beaches safely this summer."
"Access to city beaches isn't just a summer fun issue. It is an equity issue and a public health issue. All New Yorkers, not just those wealthy enough to travel out of the city, deserve access to the beach this summer," Johnson said in a statement. "It's going to take hard work and thoughtful planning, but we need to find a way to allow people to cool off at city beaches and to get to and from waterfront destinations safely."
The recommendations include everything from increasing public transportation options to having personal protective equipment for lifeguards.
The new guidelines came a day after a man drowned off Rockaway Beach after going swimming with two other people.
More than a half-dozen Council members said opening the beaches for swimming is about people's safety and mental health.
"It is important that the city takes measures to make our beaches a safe and socially distant experience for New Yorkers," Council Member Chaim Deutsch said in a statement. "We've already seen it in recent weeks – as the weather gets warmer, residents WILL go outside."
"We can't have a situation where the beaches are open to surfers for some remake of Point Break, but non-surfboard equipped New Yorkers must sweat it out," Council Member Joe Borelli said in a statement.
These are the recommendations released by the Council members (read the entire press release here):
- Beaches should be open for swimming and permit stationary/sunbathing activities. Capacity can be reduced by establishing marked off, safely distant, locations on the beach. Ropes could be used to block off areas, including for walking, transit or spaces needed for additional distancing. Markers like flags could be planted in the sand to designate areas where a person or small group can sit (can't be more than a certain number of feet from a flag, and flags would be spaced in advance by the Department of Parks and Recreation at safe distances). Flags should be inexpensive and flexible, and preferably made out of sustainable materials with no negative impact on the beach environment. Beaches should include spacing for walking lanes. Where possible, beaches could designate separate entrances and exits to facilitate social distancing.
- Restaurants on or adjacent to beaches should be permitted to open. The City should work with restaurant owners to determine the best course of action within Department of Health and Mental Health (DOHMH) guidelines.
- Bathrooms should be kept open, same as NYC parks. They should be cleaned frequently.
- Soap and sanitizer must be in all bathrooms. In addition, there should be foot pedal operated soap and water and/or sanitizer hand washing stations throughout the beach area.
- Mask use should be required on boardwalks or whenever mobile on the beach (except for transit to water). Free masks should be made available to the public on a daily basis.
- Lifeguards should be provided with PPE (masks, gloves, respirator guards/facemasks). The city should work with DOHMH to determine how frequently lifeguards should be tested. They should be permitted to isolate with pay as needed, again under DOHMH guidelines.
- Use social/health ambassadors, including youth and other community partnerships, to educate the public on social distancing policy and mask requirements, instead of relying on NYPD for enforcement. Signage should educate beachgoers on social distancing, new beach use policies, and proper traffic flow. The signs should be multi-lingual. DOHMH should also prepare clear guidelines and multi-lingual educational material on social distancing and make it available to beach visitors. Parks has experience in crowd control that should be utilized.
- Beaches will need an increase in receptacles for masks, gloves, and other PPE to minimize litter cleanup at end of day.
- Increasing transportation options will increase the ability for social distancing. Some ideas to increase transportation options include implementing new bus lanes to facilitate additional frequency on high-traffic bus routes, expanding the number of bike racks at beach entrances, and pop-up protected bike lanes or bike-only streets on routes approaching beaches.
- Lastly, we must also be looking at non-beach alternatives for neighborhoods who aren't near the beach. We must bring resources, such as misting machines in parks or open streets, to those communities as well.
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