Amityville Beach, Tanner Park Beach closed to bathing, Suffolk health department says

Swimmers looking to go for a dip at Amityville Beach in Amityville and Tanner Park Beach in Copiague will have to look elsewhere after the Suffolk County health commissioner shut them down Saturday due to high bacteria levels in the water.

Ronkonkoma Beach, in Lake Ronkonkoma, has remained closed since Thursday, per health officials' orders.

Suffolk County Commissioner of Health Dr. Gregson Pigott warned on Saturday that swimming at these beaches could result in gastrointestinal illness and infections of the eyes, ears, nose and throat.

Concentrated bacteria levels can be caused by human or animal fecal matter carried in into recreational waterways by runoff after a heavy rain.

The health department shut down 48 beaches Thursday due to rainfall, promising to open them the next day if testing showed the levels of the pathogen had decreased.

A Newsday investigation, published last month, found that beach closings and unsafe water advisories have increased since 2013.

Based on Environmental Protection Agency data, 83 out of 252 beaches on Long Island had at least one rain or contamination warning or closure in 2023.

Tanner Park was closed for about a quarter of the season last year, the report found. Amityville Beach closed 90 days from unsafe conditions in 2023.

Most beaches are reopened 24 to 48 hours after closure.

For the latest updates on closures and advisories, call the Bathing Beach hotline at 631-852-5822 or visit the New York State beach monitoring website.