Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
7 drowned at NYC beaches this summer. Most grew up in the city without access to pools.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 8, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Liam Quigley
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 8, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The temperature in New York City peaked at 85 degrees the day Moises Rodriguez’s friends last saw him.
He’d been staying at an AirBnB in the Rockaways. That evening, he waded into the ocean.
Just after midnight the next morning, cops responding to a 911 call found the 30-year-old army veteran floating in the ocean. Rodriguez had become the sixth person to die at a New York City beach this summer. A seventh person drowned on Aug. 14. It was the most drownings at city beaches since 2019.
A Gothamist analysis of city data found that six of the seven drowning victims this summer lived in districts where fewer than half of residents have access to swimming facilities within 15 minutes by public transit. One of those drowning victims, Christian Perkins, lived in a district without a beach or public New York city pool. Nearly 2 million New Yorkers live in such districts, which amount to swimming deserts.
Only 30% of people in New York City live within a 15-minute transit ride to a city beach or pool, according to city data. That lack of easy access means people must go out of their way to learn to swim, according to Shawn Slevin of the Swim Strong Foundation.
“Going to swimming lessons … It's not as easy as it would be to throw on a pair of sneakers and go down to the corner and shoot some hoops," ” Slevin said. "From a young parent's point of view. It's a lot of stuff and if you have to travel by public transportation, that even adds another layer of challenge."
She said that more pools would mean less drownings at city beaches, which she called “the strongest, most dangerous type of water.”
“To not have accessibility, equitable access, safe access to the water, is criminal,” Slevin said.
Like four other victims this summer, Rodriguez did not know how to swim, his mother said.
Moises Rodriguez was one of the seven people who drowned at city beaches this summer.
Courtesy of Mildred Rodriguez
Rodriguez grew up in Washington Heights and attended the now-closed St. Agnes Catholic Boys High School on the Upper West Side. The school did not have a swimming facility. Less than half of the people living in the community district where Rodriguez grew up had access to a swimming facility by way of a transit ride of 15 minutes or less, according to city data.
Moises’ mother, Mildred Rodriguez, said he only went swimming on special occasions.
“Only when we went for vacation or we went to the beach, you know, family reunion and stuff like that,” Mildred Rodriguez said.
Since the pandemic, the city has struggled with a lifeguard shortage.
When Chandler, 17, and Elyjha Perkins, 16, drowned at Jacob Riis Park, lifeguards had finished work for the day. Only one drowning this summer happened while lifeguards were on duty.
After Rodriguez died, Mayor Eric Adams extended lifeguards’ hours at a few city beaches. Gov. Kathy Hochul joined Adams in committing $46 million to build modern swimming facilities in the Bronx and Rockaways.
Parks department officials say they had as many as 930 lifeguards watching over city pools and beaches this summer – an improvement over previous years. The city won more control over lifeguard training, loosening the grip of its union leadership and increasing pay for lifeguards.
But Moises’ grieving mother says more could potentially be done to limit access to beaches during off-hours.
“I know he wasn't responsible for doing that, to go to the beach that late,” she said. “But you know, I think they should have [no] access to the public, late at night.
“It happened to my son, it could happen to somebody else,” Rodriguez said.
Tagged
beaches
new york city
public safety
parks
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man shot and killed on Midtown subway platform Saturday afternoon, NYPD says
Police said they're searching for a person of interest.
By
Ryan Kost
and
Elizabeth Kim
Published Oct 17, 2026
Modified Oct 17, 2026 at 4:10 p.m. ET
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .