New York Barking Beach Nannies Waste Time and Money

Brooklyn, New York -- Ever since the Giuliani administration, New York City authorities have been cracking down on off-hours beach bathers. This activity has intensified under New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Most of it is a waste of time and money.

In fairness, I must confess some bias on this issue. I am a former competitive swimmer and lifeguard who has swam for 44 of my 48 years.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, New York City beaches are open between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. During those hours, they are staffed by lifeguards. However, many people swim in the summer during the several hours of daylight before and after those times.

When that happens, a cat-and-mouse game ensues. In a scene out of the Rat Patrol, green-shirted Parks Department employees armed with whistles and bullhorns cruise along the shore in jeeps, commanding bathers to get out of the water. The swimmers return to the ocean almost immediately after the Parks people leave.

On a Coney Island beach near my home, these official sorties have recently become more frequent. Parks Department jeeps sit on the water for as long as it takes to clear out the bathers. Jeep-riding cops and firefighters have sometimes gotten into the act. I once saw a firefighter threaten to ticket an after-hours swimmer, but I've never actually seen anyone get a summons.

During one late afternoon in Coney Island, a Parks Department jeep got stuck in a few inches of ocean water. A strong smell of oil wafted from the vehicle as the driver repeatedly tried to start it.

"I came to enjoy the beach, and now I have to inhale all this gasoline," groused an elderly man with a Russian accent.

Without question, the presence of lifeguards reduces drowning deaths and related injuries. This fact is well-documented in the 2001 Centers for Disease Control publication Lifeguard Effectiveness: A Report of the Working Group.

People should swim in life-guarded areas whenever possible. This practice is highly recommended for young children. According to the CDC, youngsters in swimming pools account for 60 percent of all drowning deaths.

But there's a big difference between an unsupervised child in a pool and an adult in the ocean. Pools cover a finite area and can be easily locked down. Not so with beaches.

According to the New York City Parks Department Web site, there are 18 miles of City public beaches garnering 12 million visitors a year. The strip of sand in my area alone stretches 1.7 miles. You'd have to build fortifications rivaling the Great Wall of China and staff them with a small army to fully enforce the no-swimming-after- hours policy.

Under ordinary conditions, most New York beaches should be swim-at-your-own risk during daylight hours when lifeguards are not present. The City would save a small fortune in police, fire, and Parks Department overtime, as well as vehicle maintenance.

The New York City Council and the New York State Legislature should institute a modified swim-at-your-own risk policy. Under ordinary daytime conditions, the overwhelming majority of adults can be expected to exercise due care in the ocean and competently supervise their young children.

There are, however, inherently dangerous situations when people should not be on the beach, let alone in the water. Such instances include darkness, hurricane, lightning, and the presence of sharks. When those and similar hazards exist, authorities have an absolute right to remove people from beaches in accordance with health and safety rules.

Six swimmers recently drowned in the Rockaways amidst strong riptides. No lifeguards were present. While this is a tragedy for the families involved, it does not justify the near-hysterical media coverage and scolding that followed.

The Virginia Beach Hotel-Motel Association provides good safety advice on riptides. According to the Association, a swimmer caught in a riptide should never swim directly against the current. He or she should swim parallel to shore until clear of the riptide and only then head for land. I used this technique with great effectiveness when I was caught in a riptide not far off Jones Beach in Long Island, an area known for rough surf.

But most New York City beaches are relatively placid. This is certainly true in my neck of the woods.

According to an article in the July 2006 edition of the Gotham Gazette, New York City has a drowning rate of 0.28 per 100,000 persons, less than one-quarter the national average. According to the Gazette, 22 people drowned in New York City in 2004, a minuscule number considering the millions who swim here each year.

New York State Department of Health historical drowning data indicate that between 2001 and 2007, there were 27 beach drownings in regulated facilities throughout the State and an equal number in pools.

A publication of the New York City Department of Transportation says that there were 315 traffic-related deaths in the City in 2006. I don't see anyone banning cars on City streets without traffic cops.

Earth to Bloomberg: get the Parks Department nannies off the beaches, save money, and stop trying to micromanage people's lives.