A popular beach escape for sweltering New Yorkers is back open — and not a moment too soon for those looking to find some relief from the heat index levels that once again will approach 100 degrees.
After being closed from Thursday and into Friday, park officials announced that the beach at Jacob Riis Park would be open starting Friday afternoon. The beach had been closed after park officials cited unsafe water conditions.
Samples taken from water along the Queens beachline previously produced high bacteria levels that exceed the National Park Service safety standards. But in a tweet on Friday, the Gateway National Recreation Area, which Jacob Riis Park is a part of, said that the "bacterial levels were back below local, state and National Park Service Standards."
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Regular swimmers to NYC beaches know well the challenges of getting in the water this summer. In addition to a handful of shark sightings that have suspended swimming for brief periods, large stretches of the Rockaways have been closed through much of the summer for construction and restoration of the beach.
New York City reminds the public that it opens cooling centers when the heat index is forecast to be 95 degrees or above for two or more consecutive days, or if the heat index is forecast to be 100 degrees at any time. Cooling centers located at older adult center sites will be reserved for older New Yorkers, ages 60 and older.
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To find a cooling center, including accessible facilities closest to you, call 311 or visit the NYC Cooling Center Finder at NYC.gov/beattheheat.
