NYC Parks has temporarily closed Rockaway Beach after multiple bull sharks were sighted off the Queens Coastline.
Photo by John Schilling
Rockaway Beach reopened to the public at 3:30 p.m. after closing intermittently following multiple confirmed sightings of bull sharks off the Queens coastline.
New York City’s Emergency Management Department issued a notice shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 2, warning beach-goers to expect intermittent beach closures due to the sightings.
A Parks Department official said the last sighting occurred via drone at around 2:30 p.m., with the beach set to reopen at 3:30 p.m. if there are no further sightings. An agency official has since confirmed that there have been no further sightings.
NYC Parks generally closes a beach one mile in each direction for one hour if there has been a long shark sighting, but closes the entire beach when there have been confirmed sightings of multiple sharks on the same day.
One image captured two sharks swimming together off the Queens coastline.
The beach closures and sightings coincided with what is currently the hottest day of the year, with temperatures hitting 100 degrees in Central Park for the first time in over a decade. An extreme heat warning remains in place across all five boroughs.
Earlier Thursday, the Town of Hempstead shuttered its beaches after a 9-foot-long shark was spotted from Town Point Park Lookout. The Nassau County beaches have since reopened after lifeguards monitored the shoreline, following all relevant safety protocols.