|
|
 
Beach Rules an Obstacle for Stressed New Yorkers
CNN.com, 6/04
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Stressed New Yorkers longing for an escape from
their
sweltering urban jungle this summer are often finding no peace at the
beach
despite miles of breezy coastline within close reach of Manhattan.
Beach-seekers are confounded by strange rules, pricey parking fees,
beach
entrance charges, fines for not following posted policy and
restrictions on
where they can swim and surf.
Not to mention lifeguards most comfortable communicating in Polish or
Latvian. Or pool monitors who require swimmers to wear lining in their
swimming trunks.
Plotting the route to summer relief can be a challenge.
While eight city-governed beaches were officially declared open earlier
this
month, 53 outdoor pools do not open until Saturday despite soaring heat
and
humidity.
Tim Gough, who lives in lower Manhattan, said that recently "even
though it
is already boiling hot there was no water in the pool. It was
ridiculous."
Last season he was refused entry to a pool on Manhattan's Lower East
Side
because the swimming trunks he was wearing did not have a mesh lining.
He
was asked by a monitor to show that his swimsuit was lined.
"When I asked why, I was told I needed lining to 'catch all the bits
that
fall out,' which seems completely bizarre to me," he said.
Gough said he was also shocked when he was required to pay a $7 entry
fee to
sit on the sand during a recent visit to Long Beach on Long Island, a
45-minute trip from Manhattan.
"Beaches should be free. People should be able to swim at their own
risk.
It's all about civil liberties and this is supposed to be the greatest
democracy in the world," he said.
Swimmers and surfers at city beaches, which are free to enter, face
fines
between $50 and $200 for activity outside the lifeguard hours of 10
a.m. to
6 p.m.
New York Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe blamed "America's litigious
society" for some of the strict rules.
"New Yorkers can find them (the rules) strange but we are trying to get
the
laws relaxed," he said. "I blame the lawyers and the legal system.
Europe is
more sophisticated and people take more personal responsibility for
risky
behavior."
The city's official beach season lasts only until September 6, the
timing
governed by the availability of lifeguards, who are mainly students
taking
on summer jobs.
But even that is not immune from complication. Due to a shortage of
local
lifeguards, Parks Commissioner Benepe said the city looked to hire
guards
from other countries "like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa,"
but ran
into visa problems.
Eventually more than 50 lifeguards were recruited from Poland and
several
from Latvia and Bulgaria. They are paid $10 an hour. "The economy in
Poland
is not so good and they like to travel," said Benepe. "They have a good
time."
Beaches that come under the city's care are just a drop in the ocean
compared to the number of sandy spots that surround New York on Long
Island
and on the New Jersey coast.
Control of these beaches is divided among the federal government,
national
seashores, states, counties, municipalities, townships and villages,
with
each body setting different rules.
For example, Long Beach resident John Schultz said his community
prohibits
swimming before 7 a.m. and confines surfers to two places on its 3-mile
shoreline. "That to me is ridiculous," Schultz said.
At another popular area, the Jersey Shore, surfers are required to take
a
swimming test and get a surfing permit, he said.
Joel Banslaben, head of the New York City chapter of the Surfrider
Foundation, a group dedicated to improving beaches, said public access
was a
growing concern.
"Certain townships keep people out by charging for permits that range
between $100 and $500 for a season unless you are a full-time
resident," he
said. Many municipalities say they use beach fees to pay for services
such
as the lifeguards and trash pickup.
The popular getaway for New York's rich and famous -- The Hamptons --
"was
even more exclusive where only residents can get permits to access the
beach," he said.
Faced with these obstacles, surfers and other avid beachgoers are
forced to
resort to insider information. "In the surfing community we have our
secret
spots," Banslaben said.
* * *
(c) 2004 CNN.com. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
|
|
