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Beaches Will Stay Open An Extra Week This Year
By
Lauren Evans
Published Jun 23, 2015
Modified Jun 23, 2015
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Jun 23, 2015
Modified Jun 23, 2015
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The arrival of Labor Day has long meant the End of Beach Season, not because there is any appreciable difference in the actual temperature, but because that's just when it stops being legal to put your bikini-clad body in the water at NYC beaches.
Not so this year! The mayor's office has allocated $687,000 to keep the beaches open an extra week, as part of an $8.7 million cash infusion for the Parks Department. That seems like an awful hefty price tag for a piddly seven days. A Parks spokesperson tells us that most of that money goes toward paying the city's 14,000 lifeguards, as well as beach maintenance and security.
The extension will apply only to the city's most popular beaches: Rockaway Beach in Queens, Coney Island and Brighton beaches in Brooklyn, Midland and South beaches in Staten Island, and Orchard Beach in the Bronx.
"Countless New Yorkers visit our city’s beaches every summer—and thanks to the new budget, New Yorkers will enjoy a longer season at beaches across the city," said Monica Klein, deputy press secretary for the Mayor's Office. "The beach season will be extended one week through September 13 at Parks beaches in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx."
Yes, you can argue it's "still hot," after September 7, but isn't going to the beach after Labor Day a little like staying too late at a party? It's over, you guys. Fall has arrived. Throw your bathing suit in the trash, or make it into a sweater or a warm mug of cider.
And anyway, doesn't the Parks Department have more pressing priorities for its already thin budget? Proceed down to the comments to tell me how wrong I am.
Tagged
beach season
beaches
Office of Management and Budget
Lauren Evans
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