Lifeguards needed for summer season at Long Island state parks, official says

Want to spend this summer at the beach, maybe alongside the pool?

The New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has 1,100 lifeguard positions available this summer at 70 state parks and pools — with applications being taken now as part of a recruitment campaign on digital and social media, the agency said.

Starting pay is $21.86 an hour and increasing based on experience, state parks officials said in a statement Tuesday.

Long Island hires just over 500 lifeguards each year, said George Gorman, Long Island regional director for state parks.

In an email, Gorman said: "The vast majority of those positions are filled by rehires. We will not know how many new hire positions will be available until we complete our rehire process which includes a requalifying swim and run program."

Long Island state parks lifeguards serve beaches including Jones Beach, Robert Moses, Sunken Meadow, Wildwood, Heckscher, Orient and Hither Hill, while swimming pools include Montauk Downs and Jones Beach.

Officials said candidates for non-Long Island facilities are able to qualify at any of the scheduled sites, while candidates for the Long Island facilities must follow new hiring procedures scheduled for June 8.

Those procedures will be conducted by the Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps and require an applicant be at least age 17 on the date of the test and that an applicant be able to: finish a 100-yard timed swim in 75 seconds or less; complete a 50-yard "cross chest carry" — 25-yard swim, 25-yard carry of a manikin — in 55 seconds or less; complete a 3/4-mile endurance run in six minutes or less; be able to complete a timed ocean swim of between 350-400 yards. Stopping during that swim will result in disqualification, officials said.

All candidates also must present photo proof of age and identity before the swim. This includes verifiable government-issued photo identification.

Officials said a list of minimum qualifications could be found on the state parks application site, with the procedures and qualifications for Long Island-based jobs listed under: Long Island Region Qualifying Procedure — Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps.

"All across our vast state, we depend on our dedicated New York State Park lifeguards as they play a critical role in protecting millions of patrons at our beaches and pools each year," State Parks Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons said in a statement on Tuesday.

State park oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launch areas, beaches and pools statewide — those facilities attracting more than 88 million visitors annually.

For more information on how to apply for a position as a lifeguard, visit parks.ny.gov/employment/lifeguards. 

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”