Rockaway Beach To Fully Reopen For Memorial Day Weekend

ROCKAWAY BEACH, QUEENS — A popular strip of Rockaway Beach that was closed last summer will reopen in time for Memorial Day Weekend, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

The city will reopen the stretch of Rockaway Beach between Beach 92nd Street and Beach 102nd Street in time for the 2019 beach season.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city paid $10.7 million to clean out the East Rockaway inlet and use the excess sand to replenish parts of Rockaway Beach that had eroded, according to the mayor's office.

"No one wanted to have another partial beach shutdown again this summer — and now we won’t," U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said.

Last summer the NYC Parks & Recreation Department said there wasn't "enough beach area to safely operate swimming and recreation activities" on that stretch of Rockaway Beach, thanks to the erosion.

The decision came less than a week before the beach's opening in 2018 and drew harsh rebuke from public officials.

"For New Yorkers, summer means Rockaway beach. That’s why I could not be happier to announce we will have the entire beach open in time for Memorial Day weekend," said Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.

New York City’s public beaches will open for swimming starting Saturday, May 25 and remain open through Sunday, September 8.