Talking about jumping the shark!
Swimmers had to repeatedly jump out of the water in the Rockaways Thursday after lifeguards whistled them out of the ocean after multiple rounds of multiple sharks were spotted by an FDNY drone, the Daily News has learned.
Shortly after 11 a.m., multiple bull sharks were spotted off Rockaway Beach, a Parks Department spokesperson said. The FDNY firefighter monitoring the drone feed immediately alerted the nearest lifeguard station, which pulled the swimmers from the water, and the entire beach was closed to swimming.
A half hour later, the drone spotted two two more sharks — this time a female tiger shark and her calf — in the ocean off of Beach 59th St.
Lifeguards hold court after a shark sighting in Far Rockaway at 59th Street in Queens on Thursday July 2, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
Swimming was allowed to resume a short time later after the apex predators had swum by.
But then multiple sharks were spotted again at 12:40 p.m., closing the entire beach for swimming again until 1:40 p.m.
But at 2:30 p.m., there was yet another beach closure after additional sightings of multiple sharks, the Parks spokesperson said.
“Due to multiple shark sightings, expect intermittent beach closures at Rockaway Beach in Queens,” the Parks Department said on X on Thursday afternoon. “Follow the guidance of lifeguards and on-site staff.”
With a heat wave washing over New York City, people take to the beach in Far Rockaway at 59th Street in Queens on Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
The FDNY has been using drones to monitor the city’s beaches daily since 2023, in the wake of the first Rockaway Beach shark attack in 70 years.
The city routinely flies drones over Rockaway Beach in Queens, Coney Island in Brooklyn and Orchard Beach in the Bronx.