New York State — But Not City — Beaches to Open Friday of Memorial Day Weekend

To be clear, Cuomo’s announcement includes state beaches only, as the opening of city beaches remains Mayor De Blasio’s call.

De Blasio announced yesterday that the opening of city beaches by Memorial Day is likely “not in the cards.”

“We can’t have crowds, we can’t have gatherings, we can’t have people going to the beach, we can’t have the boardwalk get crowded, we’ve got to protect against the problems that come with people being in too close proximity in this pandemic,” De Blasio said.

Better than no beaches at all, right?

“[New Jersey and Connecticut] were going to open beaches and if New York did not open beaches you would see an influx of people to the Jersey Shore and Connecticut that would put New Yorkers in jeopardy,” says Cuomo.

In order for beaches to safely remain open, beachgoers must adhere to social distancing guidelines as well as a handful of other regulations:

• No more than 50% capacity will be allowed at a given time (Capacity to New York beaches will be limited by controlling entrances to beaches.)
• No contact activities (like football and volleyball) will be allowed
• Gathering places like picnic areas and concessions will not be operating
• Beach-goers must wear masks when they can’t maintain proper social distance

Cuomo recognized that there is of course a risk that locals won’t enforce social distancing regulations or that the beaches will get overcrowded.  This will be closely monitored and if this occurs, the beaches will be closed the next day.