Hundreds On Coney Island Usher In New Year By Taking Plunge Into Icy Atlantic
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Hundreds of New Yorkers welcomed in the New Year by taking the plunge into some frigid cold water.
The Coney Island Polar Bear Club held its annual New Year's Day swim in the Atlantic Ocean Friday afternoon.
"You have the sand, you have the beach, you have the wind, you have the waves," Dennis Thomas of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club told 1010 WINS. "It's always an amazing, intense and immediate experience."
As CBS2's Steve Langford reported, for more than a century the big chill at Coney island has attracted the hale, the hearty, and the hare-brained.
It was the first time for Debra Gusman from Manhattan.
"My friend got me into this, this is her second time and I said, 'What the heck, Let's go for it!' You only live once," she told WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini.
Gusman had a full-body wet suit on, but her father, George Baez, was in nothing but his swim trunks. He said he doesn't mind the cold.
"Oh no, I did it before," he said.
As the band struck up a rendition of 'Cold Lang Syne' the NYPD kept an eye on things from the air and sea, but the only harm the swimmers could cause would be to themselves, which is why the FDNY was on hand as well.
Whether they were in and out of the water in 10 seconds or went back for several dips, all who participated plunged for a good cause.
Proceeds go to Camp Sunshine, which helps kids with life-threatening illnesses.
