Drownings at NYC beaches this summer cause concerns. Here's how the city is responding.
NEW YORK – Some lifeguards will now stay at New York City beaches later when the city's emergency heat plan has been activated.
The city Parks Department is implementing a new protocol after several drownings at city beaches this summer.
Lifeguards will stay at NYC beaches later as part of emergency heat plan
Officials said when the city's emergency heat plan has been activated, lifeguards will remain in their stations until 8 p.m. Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi said the new protocol will affect about 66 lifeguards across the city.
Mayor Eric Adams stressed that beaches will still close for swimmers at 6 p.m. and lifeguards will leave their chairs at that time. Under the new protocol, lifeguards will stay at their stations or shacks an additional two hours so that they can respond to an emergency if needed.
"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," Joshi said.
The city's emergency heat plan is activated when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory. Those advisories are issued when the heat index is expected to rise above 100 degrees, or expected to rise above 95 degrees for at least two days in a row.
Drownings at NYC beaches this summer
There have been several drownings at city beaches so far this summer. At least four of them happened after lifeguards went off duty.
Two teenagers went missing in the water at Jacob Riis Beach in late June. Several days later, two bodies were found near where they went missing.
On July 5, sisters Zainab and Aisha Mohammed went into the water at Coney Island Beach. The 17-year-old and 18-year-old were pulled out of the water about 90 minutes later and rushed to a local hospital, where they were both pronounced dead.
The tragic deaths have sparked calls for changes in the city, including extending the hours lifeguards are on duty and doing more to address the lifeguard shortage.
