Beach season began Saturday with 280 lifeguards, well short of what the city needs, amid a yearslong staffing shortage. But more will come by summer’s peak.
New York City’s 14 miles of public beaches opened for the season on Saturday, moving the city one step closer to the official start of summer.
And with the opening of the beaches came the lifeguards.
Before 10 a.m., groups of them made their way to posts across the city, from Orchard Beach in the Bronx to Rockaway Beach in Queens. Not long after, one group sprang into action on Coney Island.
“We’ve already got someone on the jetty,” one lifeguard said to another. And then they were off, jogging out to the rocks, whistles blaring.
The city had 280 lifeguards certified as of Saturday, according to the Parks and Recreation Department. That’s well short of full staffing for the city’s beaches and pools, but 50 more than were available on Memorial Day weekend last year. City officials say that’s a somewhat encouraging sign as the city struggles to address a yearslong lifeguard shortage — a common affliction among parks departments across the country.
Sue Donoghue, the parks commissioner, said she expected overall staffing to grow over the next few weeks as students finish classes and summer officially arrives. There are 374 new lifeguards currently enrolled in training classes, according to the department, and returning lifeguards are expected to join up in time for the height of summer. Last year, the city had certified more than 900 lifeguards by Fourth of July weekend, up from just 230 at the start of beach season.
