Long Beach officials announce new beach, boardwalk restrictions

Long Beach is barring nonresidents from the beach on weekends and cutting off oceanfront and boardwalk access nightly for all in reaction to a close-up Saturday night gathering of maskless revelers by the hundreds, city officials said Monday.

The gathering of mostly young adults was the latest of several on Long Island in which a large group violated Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's executive order mandating social distancing, officials said.

Several Long Beach department heads met Monday to discuss the new strategy and Acting City Manager Donna Gayden issued an executive order limiting beach hours as well as closing off access to everyone at 8 p.m. nightly, starting Thursday.

Nonresidents will be barred from the beach Friday through Sunday.

Lifeguards will remain on duty daily until 6 p.m., when swimming typically stops, and a smaller lifeguard staff will stay on until 7 p.m.

The city will also close its 2.2-mile boardwalk nightly at 9 p.m. and restrict access with barricades. The boardwalk will reopen about sunrise daily, while beach pass sales will begin at 9 a.m., when lifeguards resume duty. 

The moves come after county and state officials, including Cuomo, said the revelers flouting his executive order mandating social distancing behaved in ways that could undo the state’s progress against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long Beach city spokesman John McNally said the measures aim to protect residents and visitors as well as first responders on the beach for water rescues.

Lifeguards and other Long Beach first responders rescued 17 people from the ocean between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, McNally said.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic and the influx of people coming to our beach after hours, when the water is rough, it’s an extremely dangerous situation for everyone involved,” McNally said. “We’ve had an influx of large gatherings that treat our beach like a place to party with zero social distancing or mask wearing and the crowds have been aggressive.”

Previously, the beach was typically open until 11 p.m. while swimming ended at 6 p.m. Boardwalk access had not been restricted overnight. The boardwalk closed in March for about two months over concerns about the rising number of coronavirus cases in the city and it potentially serving as an infection point. 

Cuomo and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran renewed calls for tightening Long Island’s adherence to the executive order requiring masks and keeping at least 6 feet apart after video footage surfaced of Long Beach’s boardwalk and beach teeming with visitors Saturday night in apparent defiance of the mandate.

Acting Long Beach Police Commissioner Philip L. Ragona said Monday that some in the gathering of up to 800 were drinking alcohol, which is prohibited at the beach, and getting into fights. He also said some threw bottles at police and surrounded a patrol vehicle before officers were able to disperse the crowd.

Investigators are examining video footage to determine if any of those on the beach Saturday night would be issued summonses or face arrest, Ragona said.

The gathering began as a “sunset watching” event promoted through social media, Ragona said, adding that trouble started at about 9:45 p.m. and ended when 24 police officers — 14 from Long Beach and 10 from Nassau County, broke up the crowd by 12:15 a.m.

The event was only the latest of several similar large, up-close gatherings on Long Island in recent weeks, including a Fourth of July weekend party on Fire Island and an another holiday gathering where many as 10 Suffolk County lifeguards in attendance may have contracted the coronavirus.

On June 20, as many as 1,500 mostly teenagers in Long Beach were dispersed by cops, police said.

“It’s stupid to act that way right now,” said Cuomo spokesman Jason Conwall on Monday, referring to the Long Beach Saturday night crowd. “Based on what we can see and what was reported, this is an example of the stupid behavior to which the governor is referring … We’ve had months and months of facts and data. This is a real thing and people need to take it seriously.”

Curran was also disappointed by the apparent disregard for the order.

“Long Island has successfully crushed the curve because residents are doing a great job following the rules,” she said in a statement. “However, COVID-19 hasn’t disappeared and what comes next depends on all of us. Nassau County will continue to take seriously our critical enforcement responsibility so that we can continue moving forward.”

Nassau County has seen approximately 988 violations of the Governor’s Executive Order since March and issued 70 appearance tickets.

Reactions varied about Long Beach's moves among residents and other officials.

“I have mixed feelings about it,” said David Katof, 74, a longtime resident who said the city has long neglected properly patrolling the beach. “If you can’t run your business, you close it.”

State Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) said the change will help some and hurt others.

"I think it is a real shame that the actions of a reckless few are going to create hardship for everyone else," he said, calling the decisions a major trade-off since businesses on the beach make money at night. "But having a massive outbreak and ruining the progress we've made on flattening the curve is an unacceptable result and I believe that is what's motivating the city's actions."

Sam Pinto, a Long Beach firefighter and president of the Eastholme Civic Association, said the city is taking a strong step to restrict access on the beach while trying to give preference to residents.

“I think they’re giving the best effort for as many people as possible," Pinto said. "There have been a handful of situations where people from out of town are making it too hard.” 

With Michael Gormley and Scott Eidler

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