When Barbara Lyn and a friend hit Rockaway Beach on Sunday morning, they found the perfect spot on the sand, near Beach 96th Street.
But while Ms. Lyn was surfing, a city park employee blew her whistle and kicked her out of the water.
Ms. Lyn, 44, is not surprised. “Honestly, we wanted a good site,” she said, admitting that she knew the area was technically closed to the swimming public. “This is our rebellion.”
Two friends were among those undaunted by construction-related closures along Rockaway Beach, in Queens, and they’re still flocking to one of the city’s most popular summer destinations for sunbathing and dinner on holiday weekends.
Swimming and access to sand is limited along a popular stretch of beach – heading west from Beach 86th Street – until at least mid-July as the federal government pushes ahead with a $336 million project to protect the coast from coastal flooding. Some areas are closed completely, while others are open except for swimming.
The project, which begins in 2020 and is estimated to be completed in 2026, requires federal contractors to install stone jetty-like structures that keep sand from washing away. On Sunday, a pair of giant land ships were lined up behind dune fences in an area dotted with “Keep Off” and “No Lifeguard” signs.
At Beach 91st Street, surfers in dark wetsuits flout restrictions as they slip through a gaping hole in the fence with a chain attached to a large red stop sign.
“Nobody’s going to stop anything,” said Aaron O’Toole, after surfing on Sunday morning. Mr O’Toole, 27, said surfers in Rockaway have been navigating the closures and other restrictions for years.
Molly and Nick Stamos, in town for a long weekend visiting their daughter, had no idea about the restricted beach access.
“Shouldn’t we be here?” Ms. Stamos said the person was sitting with his back to a sand wall that had been flattened.
Ms. Stamos said the family did not see any “No Entry” signs as they walked from the boardwalk to the beach. They set up along a cove-like stretch of sand with few sunbathers, no lifeguards, and ocean views dotted with surfers technically constrained in the waters further afield. bronze.
Informed of the restrictions, the family decided to stay.
The force of enforcement up and down Rockaway Beach seemed light on Sunday, with only park staff or the occasional police officer on a fat-cake ATV taking people out of the water. Most visitors seem to be unaware of the restrictions.
Rockaway Beach small business owners worried about the economic impact of the beach closure.
Susan Povich, owner of Red Hook Lobster Pound, a restaurant that serves lobster rolls and seafood, estimates that her restaurant’s revenue will drop about 50% due to reduced traffic due to restrictions .
“A lot of businesses have had to close during Covid,” she said, “so this is the year we expect to make up for the sweat and tears of recent years, and now we I’m not sure I’ll get much of a profit. ”
Mrs. Povich is one of a number of small business owners who started a business Recommendations Change.org earlier this month protested the closure. The petition, which has received more than 5,900 signatures, asks the city to stop building the erosion project through September, warning that the closure could mean “straw that will break a camel’s back.”
Aaron Broudo and Belvy Klein, owners of the Rockaway Beach Bazaar, a franchise along the boardwalk, say they welcome the restoration project, but the timing of the construction is a bit “difficult”.
“We and all of the peninsula’s small businesses are completely dependent on a brief three-month summer to get through the rest of the year,” the owner wrote in an email. “While we don’t agree that summer is the best time for beach restoration, and it’s great to see the jetties completed before the busy season kicks in, we understand the work is needed. .”
Dan Kastanis, a spokesman for the New York City Parks Department, said the city has been working to minimize the economic impact on business owners and keep the beach as clear as possible.
The Rockaways were devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when a 10-foot high tide destroyed 1,000 structures and homes, damaged boardwalks, and caused widespread flooding. In the wake of that storm, city, state and federal officials have called for a more comprehensive plan to protect the coast from the devastation of future storms.
Army Corps of Engineers, kick off the Rockaway resilience project in 2020, is installing rock structures called welds – similar to stone jetties – into the ocean to fortify the sand along the beach. The next phase of the project will be the construction of sand dunes, reinforced with stone and steel, to protect from breaking waves and prevent coastal flooding.
Queens County President Donovan Richards Jr. stressed that the coastal restoration project was necessary to ensure the long-term viability of the area.
“When you are a riparian community, your community is on the front lines of climate change,” he said, adding, “We want people to live in the event of a storm. And if that means you have to miss half of the summer to be able to jump in the water, just walk a few blocks down and take advantage of other parts of the beach. “
