Dramatic video show swimmer rescued in Queens after beaches close
NEW YORK - Dramatic video captures the rescue of a swimmer in distress at Rockaway Beach.
Authorities say it happened Thursday just before 7 p.m. - an hour after beaches closed for swimming.
The video shows six people helping to pull a man to shore with a rescue buoy amid powerful waves. The man can be seen being pulled in and losing his footing, then being pulled up from the water by rescuers and, ultimately, making it to shore.
Swimming is permitted at New York City beaches from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily where lifeguards are on duty. Swimming is not allowed after hours or in areas where there are no lifeguards.
NYC's new lifeguard plan in response to recent drownings
Earlier this week, in response to several recent drownings at New York City beaches, the city's Parks Department initiated a new protocol to keep lifeguards at their stations until 8 p.m. when the city's emergency heat plan has been activated. That happens when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory, which the city was under Thursday.
Under the new plan, even if lifeguards remain on station until 8 p.m., swimming will still stop at 6 p.m.
"The point is to have a skeleton on the on-call first responder group... I think it's a really important step that both the [lifeguard] union and the Parks Department made in response to what we're seeing with drownings and the real need for people to understand that, and I'll leave on this, like don't swim if there's no lifeguard in the chair," Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi said at Tuesday's announcement.
Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday's rescue was a direct result of that plan and he thanked New York City lifeguards for keeping swimmers safe.
There have been at least four drownings this summer in New York City after lifeguards went off duty, including two teens who died at Jacob Riis Beach in late June and two teen sisters who drowned at Coney Island Beach in July.
