Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
What To Expect At NYC Beaches This Summer? "Human Waste" And Lots Of Cops
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 20, 2020
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 .
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 20, 2020
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
Beach season, like so many other aspects of life in the city right now, promises to be weird and possibly non-existent this summer. Mayor Bill de Blasio is threatening to sic cops on swimmers. Long Island officials are trying to ban New Yorkers from stepping foot on their federally-funded shorelines. And no one seems to have any plan for how city residents — confined to cramped, often sweltering homes — will manage the next few months of social distancing without losing their minds.
We do know that pretty soon it’s going to get hot, and New Yorkers will be drawn to the siren song of local beaches, desperate to plunge their sun-deprived bodies into the salty ocean. If you are hellbent on making it there, here’s what you should know ahead of time.
Will beaches in NYC be open this weekend?
New York City’s 14 miles of public beaches are technically closed for the official start of summer. Despite Governor Andrew Cuomo granting localities permission to open beaches in time for Memorial Day, the city has no plans to change that in the "near term," according to the mayor.
“We can't have crowds, we can't have gatherings, we can't have people going to the beach,” he said last week. “We've got to protect against the problems that come with people being in too close proximity in this pandemic.”
Those closures will affect the city-operated shorelines at Rockaway Beach, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Orchard Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Cedar Grove on Staten Island.
What does that actually look like in practice? If I decide to go to the beach, who’s going to stop me?
Like so much other messaging out of City Hall during this pandemic, the guidance here has been convoluted. After suggesting last week that beaches could be fenced off entirely, the mayor now says it’s “fine” for New Yorkers to sit in the sand — provided they don’t swim, barbecue, play sports, use public transit to get there, or congregate.
“If people simply walk on the beach, sit on the beach, and stay socially distanced, fine,” the mayor said on Tuesday morning. “But if it starts to seem like a typical summer beach scene, that's what we can't allow right now.”
He added that both NYPD officers and Parks Department police will be out enforcing the rules, including physically removing scofflaw swimmers from the ocean. The mind reels with possible outcomes of this enforcement strategy — swimsuit-clad David Hasselcops? — none of them particularly reassuring.
What about Jacob Riis and Fort Tilden?
On Wednesday, the National Park Service announced that both Jacob Riis and Fort Tilden will be "open" for passive recreation on Memorial Day weekend, but closed for swimming.
Gatherings and group activities are banned, as are picnic areas and coolers larger than 24 quarts. Parking at Riis will be reduced by 50 percent.
There will be no lifeguards on duty, and anyone who tries to swim will be ordered out by park rangers and park police, according to an NPS spokesperson. She added that the new guidance will be in effect "onwards until further notice."
Is there any functional difference between the city-operated "closed" beaches and the federally-run "open" beaches?
No, there does not appear to be.
So I can't legally swim at any NYC beach this weekend?
Correct. Sorry.
Can I eat? Can I pee?
There won't be picnic tables or congregating at either city or federally run beaches, though we're told that Riis Park Beach Bazaar will still be providing takeout options.
The NPS plans to provide limited bathrooms at Riis and some quantity of port-a-potties at Tilden. But according to one local resident, there have been no bathrooms at Riis the last few weeks, and "human waste [is] now becoming a problem."
It wasn't immediately clear which boardwalk concessions on the Rockaway boardwalk will remain open this summer (check back soon for our complete food guide). A few blocks off the beach, the venerable Connolly's is now serving up their potent piña coladas to-go.
Over on the Coney Island boardwalk, Nathan's, Ruby's Bar & Grill, Tom’s, and Paul’s Daughter all plan to offer to-go options by Memorial Day weekend. Michael Sorrel, the owner of Ruby's, told Gothamist he was expecting a 75 percent drop in service this summer. Still, he said he’d had a steady stream of customers since the bar began serving takeout options over the weekend.
“Some of them sit on railings, some of them go to the beach, some just pop a squat on the boardwalk,” he said. “There’s been a multitude of people, though no incidents with major groups or interference from cops.”
The bathrooms at Coney Island are not currently open.
This all sounds depressing. Maybe I'll just hit one of the beaches outside the city limits.
That does seems like the more appealing option, particularly if you have your own car, though it's not without some risk — like getting chased off the beach by a bunch of pitchfork-wielding Long Islanders.
This week, nearby town of Hempstead and the city of Long Beach passed legislation to restrict beach access to local residents. Out on Suffolk County, Cupsogue Beach and Smith Point County Parks will also be closed to outsiders, according to County Executive Steve Bellone.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran attempted to do the same on Nickerson Beach, but was forced to cave, after Gothamist pointed out that beaches that received federal funding must be open to the public. (This would seem to apply to most of the Superstorm Sandy-ravaged coastline of Long Island, so stay tuned for more walk-backs.)
Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park, both of which are state-run, will be open this weekend, but at 50 percent capacity. Swimming will be allowed, with lifeguards on duty beginning at 7 a.m. Ditto for the Hamptons and Montauk. At least four of those beaches will also have lifeguards and accessible bathrooms.
Likewise, the Jersey Shore will be open on Memorial Day, with limits on capacity set by individual local governments — none of which have explicitly banned out-of-towners thus far.
At the northern tip of the Jersey Shore, Sandy Hook beach, another Gateway National Recreation Area, will be open, with swimming permitted, but no lifeguards on duty.
Okay, just one small thing: Is it safe to go to the beach during a global pandemic?
According to Dr. Joseph Vinetz, a Yale University professor specializing in infectious diseases, the answer is a qualified yes. "I wouldn’t go to a mosh pit on the beach, but if people are not crowded and staying apart, I think the risk is pretty low," he told Gothamist this week.
Still, like other questions about open-air socializing, there is an element of risk assessment. For the majority of New Yorkers who don't own a car, getting to the beach will pose its own set of challenges. Maintaining social distancing is also difficult on a crowded beach, particularly as restrictions take effect on much of New York's shoreline. And then there's the fact that most people go to the beach to let loose and have fun — activities at odds with maintaining social distancing.
"The beach in of itself is not the problem, it's what we do in these inherent social environments," said Barun Mathema, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. "What are the meaningful and acceptable ways that the city can open [beaches] while protecting its citizens? That's the big question."
Tagged
beaches
COVID-19
coronavirus
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE 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
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 11:36 a.m. ET
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
Seeing high hopes dashed had become so routine, it was part of our identity. This year feels different.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans, but we could get used to this.
Seeing high hopes dashed had become so routine, it was part of our identity. This year feels different.
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
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
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 .