NEW YORK CITY — City beaches and pools will stay open an additional week for the third consecutive summer, officials announced Tuesday.
You can catch some sun and take a swim until Monday, Sept. 10 — a week after Labor Day, which had traditionally been the close of the season.
“To millions of New Yorkers, our city’s beaches and pools are a necessity: it’s where they go on hot summer days to relax, exercise, and just cool off,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press release.
It costs approximately $1.7 million to extend the closing a week beyond Labor Day, which includes paying lifeguards, maintenance workers and other Parks Department staff. That money was again approved in the city’s latest budget.
The extension was first proposed in 2015 by City Councilman Mark Levine, the chair of the council’s Parks and Recreation Committee, who said this week the city’s beaches and pools provide an affordable getaway to beat the heat.
"For the countless New Yorkers who can’t afford to vacation in the Hamptons or take a cruise in the Caribbean, the City's beaches and pools offer exceptional summer recreation opportunities right here in the five boroughs — accessible for the price of a MetroCard, free to enter and open to all,” he said.
All of the city’s beaches opened Memorial Day, while the outdoor pool season starts June 28.
Last year, nearly 16 million people visited the city’s beaches, and 1.9 million visited outdoor pools.
