Fate of Long Island beach cabana culture uncertain amid virus

Janet Rubinstein has rented a cabana at Nickerson Beach Park in Lido Beach every summer for nearly half a century. But the streak ends this summer, Rubinstein says, owing to the coronavirus.

“I’m 85 years old. I’m in the endangered species group,” said Rubinstein of Freeport. “I’m afraid.”

She isn't the only one. With Memorial Day approaching, cabana loyalists, public officials and beach club operators alike are grappling with whether it is safe to use the thousands of cabanas that line the Long Beach barrier island during a viral outbreak that has killed more than 22,000 New Yorkers.

The cabanas — small, tightly packed cabins on the sands fringing the Atlantic — are South Shore summertime institutions. For decades, they have commanded large fees from loyal renters, some of whom sat on waiting lists for years to claim one. But even the most devoted patrons are questioning what Long Island cabana culture will look like in a summer defined by pestilence.

“I cannot imagine how they will be able to keep these cabanas safe,” Rubinstein said.

Government officials mostly described a wait-and-see approach on the issue.

New York State Health Department spokeswoman Erin Silk did not answer questions about cabana usage on Monday, but said “guidance regarding New York’s beaches will be released in the coming days.”

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last week said state and local beaches could open this Friday at 50% capacity.

Nassau County owns and operates Nickerson. Spokesman Mike Fricchione said the county tentatively plans to open the park June 1 but is “awaiting state guidance” on whether its 645 cabanas and cabinettes can be used.

The Town of Hempstead is also waiting for word from the state before making decisions about the more than 600 cabanas and lockers at town-owned Malibu Beach Park, Hempstead spokesman Greg Blower said.

On the other end of the island, the Village of Atlantic Beach hosts around six private beach clubs with about 1,000 cabanas.

Mayor George Pappas, a self-described “lifer” at Sun & Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach, said the village is awaiting any state guidelines, but is crafting its own plan for the clubs to be able to open in early June.

“We want to see them open,” he said. “But we also want to protect our residents and their members to make sure we do this safely.”

Neither Sun & Surf nor Dover Gourmet Corp., which operates Malibu, responded to requests for comment.

Fricchione said Nickerson cabana renters will receive refunds if they cannot use them. Blower said he could not yet provide information on refunds at Malibu.

For longtime cabana renters, the uncertainty surrounding their four-to-five-figure summer investments is its own source of anxiety.

“I’m very apprehensive,” said Geraldine Kempel of Franklin Square, who has rented a cabana or locker at Malibu for around 30 years.

“If they keep it just to club members, I will consider going,” she said. If not, “I may request a refund.”

For Daniele DiChiara, a lifelong cabana patron at Sun & Surf, the main concern this summer is how other club members behave.

“I’m not worried about my family,” she said. “I’m worried about everybody else.”