Comptroller Stringer Op-Ed on Opening Beaches and Pools for the Summer: Let’s Not Throw in the Beach Towel Yet
(New York, NY) – Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer published an op-ed outlining evidence-based proposals to open the city’s beaches and pools safely and responsibly this summer. In the op-ed, the Comptroller urges a science-driven approach to reducing overcrowding and limiting capacity in order to preserve these vital sources of respite and relief.
Text of the op-ed is available below and can be viewed online here.
With Memorial Day around the corner and temperatures on the rise, it is natural for cooped-up New Yorkers to start pondering what kind of summer in the city we can have in the time of COVID-19 — and to look wistfully toward the beaches that have long provided respite to so many of our communities. Whether it is Coney Island’s boardwalk, the shores of Orchard Beach or the rolling waves of Far Rockaway, our network of public beaches and pools are some of the city’s most powerfully democratic institutions, providing free, accessible recreational outlets for younger and older New Yorkers from all walks of life to beat the city heat.
After sheltering in place for two months, our city has collectively and painstakingly flattened the curve enough to avoid overwhelming our health care system. And public health experts agree that social distancing is not a short-term fix; to avoid resurrecting the curve, social distancing must be our new, sustainable normal.
But the key word here is sustainable. Take a (socially-distanced) walk to your local park and look at the crowds. The reality is clear: our city has quarantine fatigue. Of course, staying home will always be the safest option — but for those who do choose to venture out, we should be giving them honest, evidence-based information to help them make the safest possible choices. Epidemiologists are increasingly arguing that rather than trying to maintain and enforce an all-or-nothing policy of social abstinence, we need to update our public health guidance as the status of our public health evolves and do everything we can to offer safer, more informed options.i If we don’t give people low-risk options, they will choose high-risk ones: swimming in too-swift rivers and waterways, opening the neighborhood fire hydrant, attending large gatherings, and mingling in bars and restaurants.
We should work to make New York City’s beaches and pools a safe summer staple for all. Mounting evidence indicates that the transmission of coronavirus is much more difficult outdoors than indoors. The CDC has made clear that properly maintained and operated pools should kill the virus that causes COVID-19.ii Cities and states across the nation, guided by public health experts, are already working to open up their beaches this summer. Mayor de Blasio, however, has already declared that all City pools will be shuttered this summer, and has offered no plans for New York City beaches — citing the very real challenges posed by transit and overcrowding.
But instead of throwing in the proverbial beach towel, we should take a science-driven approach to opening our beaches, as governors in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have already chosen to do. We could start with a simple reservation system, just like the city Parks Department already uses to provide free, reserved seating and limit crowds at large concerts and other events on Central Park’s Great Lawn. This existing system could be adjusted in a number of ways to regulate beaches and pools:
- Set a capacity limit at each beach based on the total geographic area where beach-goers will be admitted, allowing for proper social distancing. Pools already have strict capacity limits that likewise should be reduced to give swimmers more space.
- Distribute reservations equally via a blind lottery in each Community District, to make sure that every neighborhood has the same level of access.
- Stagger reservations across the day to reduce the risk of overcrowding both at beaches and pools but also on our transit system, which is critical at a time when many of our frontline workers need subways and buses to get to work.
- Require visitors to enter through one access point and leave through another, to keep the flow of people moving in one direction and minimize potential contact.
- Reduce access or close changing rooms and other congregate, indoor facilities, which pose the greatest risk, and set up more outdoor showers.
These are just ideas — but the point is to try something. Whatever we do, we need to be guided by science every step of the way. No attempt should be made to open beaches and pools until public health experts lend their approval to the plans. And if we are going to continue to stop the spread of this deadly virus and save lives, everyone must actively abide by the rules — which should be enforced by Parks Department staff, as well as public health “ambassadors” and community-based professionals who can politely implement these policies without unnecessarily punitive action. We cannot allow social distancing to become a pretext for further disenfranchisement and criminalization of Black and Brown New Yorkers. This is especially important on the city’s public beaches, which many lower-income communities of color rely on as a vital source of relief from the heat.
To successfully maintain our new normal, we need to adapt the ways we live, move and interact as a society and establish these healthy routines as second nature. As rates of infection change, so can our behavior. By tackling social distancing with creativity and ingenuity, we can work towards a sustainable, safe and socially-distanced summer in the city that all New Yorkers can responsibly enjoy.
i https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/quarantine-fatigue-real-and-shaming-people-wont-help/611482/
ii https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/index.html
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