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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Four People Injured by Syringes at NYC Beaches

By Nigel Chiwaya | July 26, 2012 11:40am

NEW YORK — Four people have been stuck by syringes at city beaches over the past three weeks, with three of the incidents occurring in Staten Island.

The most recent incident took place on July 24 at Rockaway Beach in Queens, when a lifeguard stepped on a needle at Beach 139th street, WNBC/Channel 4 reports.

Two incidents occurred at Staten Island's South Beach: one involving a 40-year-old man on July 4 and the other involving a 37-year-old man on July 14.

On July 16 a 63-year-old woman cut her foot when she stepped on a hypodermic needle on Cedar Grove Beach in Staten Island.

The city Parks Department, which conducts daily beach cleanings, vowed to take care of Rockaway Beach after needles were found on the sand in June.

"We clean the sand at our beaches daily, first by hand with a crew to remove large drift wood and other large debris washed ashore, and second by a barber rake to remove small debris," a Parks Department spokeswoman told DNAinfo.com via email. "If a needle or any type of medical waste is found, it, and the surrounding sand, are removed by a trained medical waste responder."

Parks advocate Geoffrey Croft said the department's response isn't enough.

"The administration needs to figure this out because that's a lot of stabbings within a couple weeks," Croft told NBC.

It's not clear where the syringes came from.