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Parks Department Brings Free Sunscreen Dispensers To NYC Beaches This Summer
By
David Colon
Published May 25, 2017
Modified May 25, 2017
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Scott Lynch / Gothamist
By
David Colon
Published May 25, 2017
Modified May 25, 2017
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Summer is coming, though you wouldn't know it from this B.S. perpetual rain cloud that's been hanging over the city for a couple of weeks now. Once it's finally here for real, however, you'll want to heed the advice of your parent/most responsible friend who yells at you to put on some sunscreen. Did you forget it before going to the beach? Well that excuse is gone now, because the Parks Department is just giving you sunscreen for free this summer.
The Comptroller's Office announced that the Parks Department had agreed to try out the free sunscreen dispenser idea, which Stringer originally proposed last year as a way to fight skin cancer in the city.
The Parks Department is installing 100 free sunscreen dispensers on city beaches, sponsored by the skin cancer prevention company Bright Guard and the non-profit IMPACT Melanoma. The city says this summer's pilot program will dispense 1,000 liters of water-resistant SPF 30 sunscreen at beaches in all five boroughs. In both Boston and Miami Beach, cities that have also provided free sunscreen to their citizens, corporations and non-profits have shouldered most if not all of the cost of the dispensers, according to Stringer's proposal last year.
Beyond fighting skin cancer, Stringer also proposed the free sunscreen as a way to help bridge the city's class divide. "Given that three ounces of sunscreen—just enough for one person’s day at the beach—can cost as much as $13.99, free sunscreen will help all New Yorkers keep more of their hard-earned cash for other priorities," he wrote in the proposal last year.
So look for the free dispensers this summer, and stay tuned for the inevitable New York Post editorial: "No More Government Handouts From The Anti-Cancer Nanny State!"
Click here for the free sunscreen dispenser locations.
Tagged
free stuff
nyc beaches
parks department
scott stringer
David Colon
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