Rockaway, Coney Island Beaches Could Be Full By July 4: Cuomo

NEW YORK CITY — New York City’s beaches could experience a return to boisterous normalcy this summer after Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that locales like Coney Island Beach and Rockaway Beach, along with city swimming pools, could operate at 100 percent capacity by the July 4 holiday.

Cuomo announced that those sites will begin to open up with a 6-foot social distancing guideline in place as the Memorial Day holiday approaches.

“We have to get ready for a great summer. The weather is turning, the winter is over, we have to get on with life and we want to have a great summer,” Cuomo said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Statewide, Memorial Day, beaches and pools open with six feet social distancing. Our goal is by the 4th of July to go to 100 percent capacity, all beaches, all pools.

“If the numbers keep going the way they're going, we're going to be able to do that. So we would actually be able to have a normal summer, finally, in beaches and pools, and that's what we're striving for."

The move toward a complete reopening by Independence Day comes as coronavirus numbers across New York continue to trend in the right direction. The state’s tota positivity rate dropped to 1.10 percent on Wednesday, the lowest it has been since Oct. 17 of last year and New York’s seven-day rolling average now sits at 1.28 percent — also a low since late October — after it has been in decline for 37 straight days, state health officials announced.

New York City’s positivity rate dropped to 0.86 percent on Wednesday, as measured by the state. The state-measured rate is typically yields much lower levels than the city's method, which is generally considered more accurate. But, still, it's the first time it has dipped under 1 percent since Oct. 14, signaling that the state is prepared to shift toward reopening.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has yet to announce plans for the city’s beaches.

Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk is scheduled to reopen for swimming on Saturday, May 29, and will remain open through Sunday, Sept. 12, according to the New York City Parks website. The site routinely welcomes swimmers, sunbathers and surfers along the Rockaway Peninsula and typically attracts millions of visitors each summer, according to the website.

The Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk website does not currently include any information about reopening to swimmers. With more than nearly 3 miles of beaches, the site also includes beach volleyball, handball, and basketball courts along with the boardwalk that offers playgrounds and amusement park rides.

Coney Island’s attractions re-opened in April after being closed to the public for the previous 529 days, the Associated Press reported. The site began with operating only on weekends at limited capacity, but de Blasio said that the fact that the iconic city playground was open for business meant that the city is moving in the right direction.

“Coney Island comes back, the rides come back, and New York City will come back,” the mayor said in April, according to the AP. “You can feel it.”