July 12, 2020 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
July 12, 2020
LOCAL
CLASSIFIEDS
PAG E 11
Stuck on shore
Large portions of many city beaches have remained closed because of a lifeguard shortage, offi cials say. Photo by Todd Maisel
Lifeguard shortage halts swimming
at large swaths of city beaches
BY ROSE ADAMS
Beaches reopened for swimmi-
Beaches reopened for swimming
on July 1 following coronavirusrelated
closures, but a shortage of
lifeguards has kept large sections
of shoreline closed, causing some
beachgoers to crowd into the open
bays, locals said.
“They are squeezing everyone
into the crowded bays that are
staffed by lifeguards while chasing
people out of the water in between,”
said Coney Islander Orlando
Mendez.
Only four of the 14 bays along
Coney Island’s west end were open
over the Fourth of July weekend
because of the lifeguard shortage,
with the entire shoreline
between Steeplechase Pier and
W. 31st street remaining closed,
Mendez said. As a result, visitors
crammed into the open bays between
W. 32nd and W. 35th streets,
where lifeguards were on duty.
“There were too many people,
and they were too close,” said
Mendez, who went to the beach on
Sunday with his grandson.
Several sections of Coney Island
Beach’s eastern side, including
the section between Ocean
Parkway and Coney Island Avenue,
were closed after the holiday
weekend because of a lack of lifeguards.
The July 1 beach opening
came only weeks after the city began
employing and training lifeguards
— a process that usually
starts in January, but was put on
hold because of the coronavirus
outbreak. The city has only hired
approximately 500 lifeguards this
year, about 100 fewer than last
year, forcing the Parks Department
to open fewer bays, a Parks
spokesperson said.
Coney Island’s councilman
blamed Mayor Bill de Blasio for
the shortage of lifeguards and the
widespread beach closures.
“I am told that there are fewer
people working this summer
than in previous years because
the mayor could not make a decision
and did not negotiate in good
faith,” said Mark Treyger. “Precious
time was lost.”
It wasn’t until around Memorial
Day that City Hall began preparing
for the beach openings in
July, which prevented the Parks
Department from hiring enough
lifeguards, a department offi cial
told the New York Times.
To add to the department’s
problems, de Blasio and health offi
cials did not negotiate with the
union that represents lifeguards
about increased benefi ts until
shortly before the July 1 deadline,
the Treyger said.
Now, lifeguards won’t receive
line-of-duty benefi ts if they contract
COVID-19 on the job — a
question that District 37, the
union that represents park workers,
raised during their negotiations
with City Hall, said Treyger.
The Coney Island pol also expressed
concerns that the limited
beach openings will prompt
beachgoers to crowd into the open
areas, possibly violating social
distancing guidelines.
“It means people are going to
gather into those small sections
that are open,” he said.
The mayor’s offi ce did not respond
to a request for comment.
PPP loans
distributed
unequally
across NY
BY ROSE ADAMS
Loans provided through the federal
government’s Payroll Protection
Program (PPP) saved nearly
1.4 million jobs across New York
City amid the coronavirus outbreak
— but an analysis of government
data shows vast disparities
in the fi nancial aid’s distribution.
The forgivable loans of up to
$10 million were distributed disproportionately
to businesses
in high-income neighborhoods,
while many qualifi ed businesses
in southern Brooklyn were left unaided,
a analysis by the apartmentlisting
website RentHop found.
The Small Business Administration
enacted the Payment Protection
Program in April to curb
massive job losses among businesses
with 500 or fewer employees
during the COVID-19 pandemic. In
New York City alone, companies
received more than 147,000 loans
to secure their payroll and retain
their employees.
Greenpoint, Park Slope, and
Brooklyn Heights received the
highest percentage of PPP loans
out of any neighborhood in the
city, with between 73 and 78 percent
of businesses laying claim to
a federal loan. Meanwhile, only 44
percent of businesses in Bay Ridge,
and 48 percent of businesses in
Bath Beach, received the funds —
the second and fourth lowest numbers
in the city, respectively.
The business fi elds in New York
City that received the most PPP
help included professional, scientifi
c and technological services;
retail trade; health care; construction;
and other miscellaneous services
not provided by public administration,
the report found.
Vol. 9 No. 28 UPDATED EVERY DAY AT BROOKLYNPAPER.COM
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