Mayor de Blasio opens the beaches for only the surfers to play in

NY Post

Wipe out!
 
City beaches will be a surfers’ paradise, but swimmers will be sidelined under a wishy-washy set of rules dropped by the city and the NYPD on the eve of Memorial Day Weekend.
 
“The beaches are open, but the water is not for swimming,” said Brian Conroy, assistant chief of the NYPD’s Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, in a press briefing at the Abe Stark Sports Center in Coney Island.
 
“You can go in ankle deep, wade in the water,” Conroy continued. “Surfers will be allowed into the water.”
 
The half-measure move was swiftly blasted as all wet.
 
“This is just more mixed messaging,” said City Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn). “We need to have very clear guidelines here, because if you don’t you’re just setting yourself up for tragedy and-or confrontation.
 
“If I carry a surfboard, can I go in the water even if I don’t know how to surf?”
 
City Councilman Donovan Richards, a Queens Democrat representing sandy Far Rockaway, said that he was left “scratching my head” over the gnarly policy.
 
“Are they going to give swim tests to surfers before they go into the water?” asked Richards. “If you’re saying the water is closed to anyone then they have to be closed for everyone.


 “It sends a bad message. It says the waters are open.”
 
Politicians weren’t the only ones who feared that the rules would confuse beachgoers trying to enjoy a little sea air and sunshine amid the coronavirus pandemic.
 
“It’s the same water. If you’re surfing, you have to go out and swim first, right?” pointed out Pat Singer, head of Brooklyn’s Brighton Neighborhood Association. “The mayor ought to rethink that one. It’s going to cause mixed messages.”

de Blasio has been exploiting this pandemic and confusing his constituents since the day he told everyone to go to the movies when the outbreak began.


But there is nothing mixed about this. As seen in multiple viral videos, there is a caste system with enforcing pandemic protocols. This is another blatant act of favoritism to the only citizens the mayor appreciates the most, the frivolous spending hipsters.

Arverne development resists hipster invasion

From the NY Times:

The growing popularity of surfing in the Rockaways has created a resurgence, attracting large beach crowds, fueling new businesses and generating other economic boosts.

But it has also made the two New York City-sanctioned surfing beaches, near Beach 90th and Beach 67th Streets in Queens, packed with wave seekers.

“Surfing has completely exploded, and we’re jammed into small areas,” said Conrad Karl, a local surfer and restaurateur. “We need to spread out a little bit. It would be safer.”

Calling the crowded lineups of surfers potentially dangerous, many surfers are pushing for a new or expanded surfing area, specifically along a stretch from Beach 66th Street to Beach 60th, an area that Mr. Karl calls “basically dead, going to waste” since it is closed to both swimming and surfing.

But, as it happens, the surfers’ campaign has collided with another explosion in the area: the infusion of hundreds of new residents into the vast Arverne by the Sea development along that same stretch of beach.

Many of its residents also want those beaches opened, but for swimming. The problem is that city officials forbid swimming and surfing in the same area, because swimmers and surfers could collide.

Future Darwin Award Winner

From the NY Post:

A straphanger filmed a numbskull with a death wish “surfing” an E train at a Queens station last week.

The unidentified subway surfer clings to the back of the train as it pulls out of the Van Wyck Boulevard station in Jamaica, balanced precariously on one leg.

“I should take the bus home after witnessing this cuz if he die you know that’s a 2 hour delay,” posted Instagram user remember24getme, along with the video.

An MTA spokesman said the agency was unaware of the incident and the image would be forwarded to the NYPD.

Hipsters act like jerks in the water, too

From the Daily News:

After fairing a mediocre summer of surf, Rockaway locals are now combating a wave of hipsters who are stealing their rides during hurricane season — the peak period for rideable swells.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Rockaway long-boarder Richard Livsey, 42. “The hipsters go out there and take waves from people who can actually surf. If they did that in Puerto Rico or Hawaii they would get beaten up.”

Hurricane season, which officially begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30, is considered the best time to shred at Beach 90th St.

But not this year.

“I’ve never seen it like this,” said Livsey, who has lived on Beach 98th St. for nearly a decade. “If they came here and respected the culture it would be one thing, but they disregard the No. 1 rule in surfing: They drop in on you.”

Surfers describe riders who hop on waves they’re already on as “dropping in.”

While thankful for the economic boost that newbies have brought to the area, locals say clueless hipsters don’t know this basic tenant of the sport.

Girl saved from her own stupidity

Is Rockaway really undergoing a revitalization?

From CBS 2:

Rockaway Beach’s comeback began with the influx of surfers after the city allowed surfing in two areas. Soon, others followed.

“As surfers, we’re hoping that the city sees that the surfing community can develop a community,” said Steve Stathis. “We hope that they recognize us and they give us more beaches to surf on.”

Developers took notice and new oceanfront condos are selling briskly.

“They come down here, their blood pressure drops by 20 points and they can breathe a little easier and they say this is really what life is supposed to be about,” said developer Michael Kerris.

Some old timers like what they see.

“Very good changes, new buildings and the situation is much safer, much better,” said Vladimir Rosenstein.

Better food at the beach

From the NY Times:

In his annual “opening Rockaway Beach” news conference Friday morning on the boardwalk, the city parks commissioner, Adrian Benepe, cautioned swimmers as he always does (“only when lifeguards are present” and “swim sober”) and lauded the city’s “14 miles of sand and water,” while announcing the opening of a mile of new boardwalk in sections between Beach 23d Street and Beach 81st Street.

And oh, yes, he said, as Brooklyn Based reported last week, there will be a robust menu of new specialty booths and carts organized by David Selig and Andrew Day Field, the owners of Rockaway Taco. But, the commissioner said, the vendors will open “subject to the successful completion of contract negotiations, and other required review and approvals.” Translation: there are still a few red-tape formalities to be dispensed with.

“We’re dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s now,” he said in a telephone interview.

The parks department has announced that it is trying to get better food vendors in the parks and the commissioner said the city “really wanted to get culinary diversity out to the beach.”

“We’ll have traditional burgers and hot dogs and fries,” he added, “but also a very exciting lineup of wider offerings.”

From the Daily News:

Residents and local officials are hoping the revamped concessions, along with other surfside events, will help lure more visitors to the area.

"This will add to the overall experience people have when they go to Rockaway and it is long overdue," said City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park). "I think it's a shame that when you go to Coney Island, you have wonderful attractions and restaurants and, when you come to Rockaway, you have parts of the boardwalk that are desolate."

Ulrich pointed out that a resurgence in the surfing community has helped spark interest in the once-thriving beach resort.

Here's a movie about Rockaway Taco for you to enjoy on this holiday.