Thursday, October 1, 2026
Since Atlantic Beach’s incorporation as a village in 1962, there have been six mayors — but not much is said about the people who volunteer alongside them, like resident Nat Etrog, who has served all of those mayors.
Since he was 6, Etrog, 80, has been around water. Growing up in Fresh Meadows and Forest Hills, in Queens, he spent his childhood summer days at Jones Beach’s Zach’s Bay, where his father, the Rev. Chaim Israel Etrog, taught him how to swim. As a teen, Nat swam and ran track at Jamaica High School, graduating in 1962.
In college, he rowed on Boston University’s crew team as a freshman before stepping away to focus on his studies. In the summers, Etrog was a lifeguard in Atlantic Beach, commuting from his family’s home in Park Slope, Brooklyn. After graduating from BU in 1967, he earned a master’s degree in social work from Yeshiva University in 1969.
When it was time to settle down, Etrog knew where he wanted to be: Atlantic Beach. “I had always loved the village,” he said. “Working here, obviously, wasn’t the same as living here. But when it came time to buy a house, it was the first place that I thought of.”
In 1976, Etrog began volunteering on the village’s Parks and Beach Commission after he met Bill Tarter, then Atlantic Beach’s superintendent of public works. In 1985, he became chairman of the commission.
Etrog attributes his community service to his professional background. For more than 30 years he was vice president for psychiatry at St John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway. He also directed what is now the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, a nonprofit that offers nonsectarian mental health counseling and children’s services for New York City families.
“As a social worker, my commitment to working with people was very much in mind with all the work that I’d done,” Etrog said. “It was natural for me to get involved.”
In addition to his service as a commissioner of the Atlantic Beach Fire District since 1999, he was captain of Atlantic Beach Rescue from 2005 to 2017. He was also a village trustee, from 1988 to 1989 and again from 2023 to 2025.
Many community members have felt Etrog’s impact, including Scott Zelenetz, who has known him since the early 1990s. They have served together on the Parks and Beach Commission for the past five years, and teamed up in Atlantic Beach Rescue.
“Whether it’s been his lifeguarding days, captain of the water rescue or as fire commissioner, Nat’s always looking to put the interest of the community ahead of anything else,” Zelenetz said. “It’s very rewarding to work with someone as selfless as that. He’s always there for the community.”
Mayor Barry Frohlinger, who met Etrog in 2021, said he was impressed by Etrog’s commitment to safety, noting that he would address the community at village meetings regardless of the season.
“He wanted to make sure that everyone understood the need to be diligent about safety for themselves and loved ones,” Frohlinger said, “whether it was in their pool, on the beach or on vacation.”
Etrog said his focus has always been to create awareness by sharing his experiences as a member of Atlantic Beach’s rescue team. Over the years, he said, he has been involved in searches and rescues around the barrier islands and the Rockaways that, unfortunately, “became search and recoveries.”
“My major commitment is safety, situational awareness and drowning prevention,” he said. “Drowning continues to be a nationwide issue, but it’s preventable, and it’s important we don’t forget that while understanding the pleasures and dangers of bodies of water.”
Last Sept. 3 — Etrog’s 80th birthday — he was honored by the village for his dedication to the community on “Nat Etrog Day.”
“I think that the village and every resident who uses the beach should feel proud that we’ve got someone with such a commitment,” Frohlinger said. “Being on the board with him as a trustee and seeing the commitment in his work, Nat has a wealth of experience and the right heart and soul.”
