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NYC beaches set to open with highest lifeguard staffing since COVID
By
Liam Quigley
Published May 23, 2026
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By
Liam Quigley
Published May 23, 2026
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New York City parks officials are optimistic they’ll have more lifeguards on the payroll this summer than any year since the COVID-19 pandemic, which upended staffing at beaches and pools across the city.
The city’s 14 miles of public beaches will open for swimming on Saturday, and public pools open on June 27.
Parks department officials said 1,080 guards monitored city pools and beaches last summer, enough to avoid rampant pool closures and beach limitations that checkered former Mayor Eric Adams’ first three years in office.
Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura said that this year's recruiting is outpacing 2025.
“We're working hard on recruitment in the off-season, and we are very confident that we'll have even more lifeguards again this summer," she said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani also will continue a program launched under Adams that introduced swarms of drones to the beaches. The flying robots were used to monitor for sharks, leading lifeguards to evacuate swimmers from the water repeatedly last summer after spotting sharks in the ocean.
Fire officials said the department started deploying drones along the beaches last week, patrolling the Rockaways from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The drone crews are supplemented by medical ATVs, with those vehicles also in operation at Coney Island and Orchard Beach.
Despite deepening ranks of lifeguards who rescue dozens of swimmers annually, seven people died along the city's beaches in each of the last two years.
Tragedy has already struck the waterfront this year. Police are still searching for a swimmer who disappeared at Rockaway Beach on Tuesday, when temperatures climbed into the 90s. There were no lifeguards on duty.
Shimamura said it's important to only swim when lifeguards are present.
“We take every sort of incident like this incredibly seriously,” she said.
“Most importantly, we think about the safety of our patrons, we think about the safety of our staff, and so it really just underscores the importance of making sure that you are only going into the water when our lifeguards, our trained professionals, our heroes are out looking out for you."
Rockaway Beach will be patrolled by an additional “gator” vehicle, allowing lifeguards to bring more lifesaving equipment to swimmers in distress.
Beaches are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will remain staffed with lifeguards until Sept. 13.
Opening weekend could prove to be a washout, with cool temperatures and steady rain predicted for Saturday and Sunday.
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new york city
parks
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Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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