With the high temperatures, many people seek to cool off on the beaches, but they must be very careful because such a calm current can become your worst enemy.
“He had to run five blocks to find a lifeguard at 131,” Jim Burke said.
That’s the distance Burke’s brother ran a few days ago when he saw a man drowning at Rockaway Beach.
“Thank God the lifeguard arrived in time.”
But two weeks ago, two young men identified as Elyjha Chandler and Christian Perkins drowned on this beach.
Due to the tragedy and the shortage of lifeguards on the city’s various beaches, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. is asking the Parks and Recreation Department for more security measures.
“Extending lifeguard hours beyond 6 p.m., extending the beach season beyond September and doing more training and recruiting for more lifeguards,” Richards Jr. said.
They have also been seeking for years the approval of a law that would make knowing how to swim a requirement for graduating from high school.
“I lost a family member to drowning and I would not wish the pain that my family or the families of Elyjha Chandler and Christian Perkins are feeling on anyone.
“But as I explained today in Rockaway Beach, this is what we need the city to do to prevent future tragic drownings on our shores,” Richards Jr. wrote in the first of several social media posts detailing his requests for safety measures.
I’ve lost a relative to drowning, and I wouldn’t wish the pain my family or the families of Elyjha Chandler and Christian Perkins feel on anyone.
But as I laid out at Rockaway Beach today, here’s what we need the City to do to prevent future tragic drownings at our shores. (1/6) pic.twitter.com/4ybT7QQTk3
— Queens Borough President Donovan Richards (@QnsBPRichards) July 2, 2024
Richards Jr. added that all schools should have free swimming programs and lifeguard training.
“That should be the model to follow in the city throughout the year.”
Alexander Méndez is 13 years old and does not know how to swim.
“Yes, I would like to have a program to learn how to swim and so that more children know how to swim and fewer people sink because they will know how to go to beaches and swimming pools for sure.”
According to data from the foundation that teaches swimming classes, Swim Strong, 60% of Latinos do not know how to swim and one in five people who drown are children.
The organization’s director Shawn Slevin says that due to climate change we are experiencing longer summers and heat waves.
“But we also want to extend protection to everyone with more lifeguards,” said the director.
Swimming is recommended only when there are lifeguards on the beaches. Do not walk or swim near rocks, as the current can carry you away and hit you. And if you see a drowning person, call 911 immediately and find the nearest lifeguard.
The request for security measures has already been sent to the Parks and Recreation Department.
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