During a visit to Coney Island on Tuesday, Parks department commissioner Tricia Shimamura said she was \u201cso excited\u201d to welcome New Yorkers back to the shore.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first real core New York City memories were here on this beach,\u201d she said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you are a new New Yorker, a native New Yorker from Brighton Beach, or somewhere in between, you know Coney Island because it is both an icon of New York but also your hometown beach.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"parks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/A23_20260519_1F5A7645_Erica-Price.jpg\")
Parks commish Tricia Shimamura (right) said she was excited to welcome New Yorkers back to the beach. Photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n
The beach is the last part of Coney Island to open for the season. Its iconic amusement parks, Luna Park and Deno\u2019s Wonder Wheel, opened<\/a> back in March, and the first pitch was thrown at Maimonides Park in early April.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the People\u2019s Playground thrives in the summer, as thousands of New Yorkers flock to the shores for some fun in the sun.\n<\/p>\n The Atlantic Ocean is \u201cthe biggest air conditioner in the world,\u201d joked Brooklyn Borough Parks commissioner Marty Maher, and Coney Island has something for everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cOur beaches are an incredible public resource where New Yorkers can find relief in the hottest of summer months,\u201d Shimamura said. \u201cLet me just say, it\u2019s going to be 90 [degrees] today and it\u2019s only going to get hotter, and this is where you find relief.\u201d<\/p>\n After days of abnormally scorching temperatures this week, Memorial Day weekend is slated to be cool and rainy in New York City, according to the National Weather Service<\/a>. But forecasters are predicting a hotter-than-average<\/a> summer for much of the U.S., including New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n In recent years, ongoing lifeguard shortages have sometimes forced the city to close sections of beach temporarily \u2014 or, in some cases, for weeks at a time<\/a>. The situation improved somewhat<\/a> last year, after the city struck a new contract with the lifeguards\u2019 union and ramped up recruitment efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n A parks department spokesperson said there were more than 1,000 lifeguards staffing New York City beaches and pools last year, the highest number since 2019. Recruits were up 23% from the year before.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though things appear promising for 2026, the department will continue to certify lifeguards until July, so it\u2019s not yet clear just how many will man the water this summer. New York City public pools don\u2019t open until June 27<\/a>, more than a month after the beaches.<\/p>\n Shimamura also debuted new UTVs \u201cpurpose-made\u201d for lifeguards to drive themselves and their equipment across the sand.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re actually creating something that really serves our lifeguards, it\u2019s meant to be driven on the beach and to be responding to emergency situations,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re really talking about saving lives.\u201d<\/p>\n The commish thanked newly-minted Coney Island Council Member Kayla Santosuosso for her advocacy and support for funding parks.\u00a0 Santosuosso, who has been in office since January said she considers Coney Island \u201cThe People\u2019s Beach \u2026 on this side of town,\u201d taking a slight dig at New York City\u2019s other iconic shore, Riis Beach.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is where people from all across Brooklyn and all across the city and families, specifically, come to enjoy our coastline, our beach,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n Aside from lifeguards, Coney Island is packed with roving parks department workers, Shimamura said. She recalled making a late-night, weekday visit to Coney Island a few years ago, expecting the beach to be empty.<\/p>\n Instead, she said, it was packed with people walking, playing, holding snakes and doing magic tricks.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe real safety I felt came from seeing our [parks enforcement] officers, it came from seeing our PD, FDNY, EMTs there,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody was there doing the things that they need to do. Coney Island is the only place where we have a 24 hour operation. That means no matter what time you come to this beach, you will see Parkies out doing the jobs that they need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"coney](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/A28_20260519_1F5A7674_Erica-Price.jpg\")
New York City\u2019s public beaches offer a free, easy way for locals to cool off and enjoy a getaway without traveling far from home. Photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n![\"lifeguards](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/A25_20260519_1F5A7652_Erica-Price.jpg\")
The exact number of lifeguards working at New York City beaches and pools is not yet finalized, but the shortage appears to have eased somewhat. Photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n
\n![\"lifeguard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/A05_20260519_1F5A7577_Erica-Price.jpg\")
One of the department\u2019s new UTVs, meant to transport lifeguards (and their gear) across the sand. Photo by Erica Price\n<\/p>\n![\"parks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/A16_20260519_1F5A7606_Erica-Price.jpg\")
City officials turned on the water at the spray shower. Photo by Erica Price ![\"beachgoers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/A20_20260519_1F5A7632_Erica-Price.jpg\")
Beachgoers cooled off at the beach on an unseasonably warm May afternoon. Photo by Erica Price<\/p>\n