It’s time for the city to open beaches earlier

Memorial Day means the start of summer, unofficially or otherwise. But a visitor who heads to Long Beach to cool off on a sweltering weekday afternoon anytime before school lets out might as well commandeer a lawn sprinkler, because our lifeguards are on duty only on weekends. This year, seven-day-a-week lifeguard coverage of the beach began almost a full week after the summer solstice.

On June 22, 12-year-old Nicole Suriel of Harlem drowned in the ocean off Edwards Boulevard during a class trip, the second such death in a month. The incident shocked not only Long Beach residents but the parents of Nicole and her classmates as well as people across New York, who were left wondering who would knowingly allow kids to go swimming in the ocean when lifeguards weren’t on duty and when signs posted at every entrance to the beach clearly state that no swimming is allowed.

There’s no denying that irresponsibility and inadequate supervision on the part of teachers and the school were the primary causes of the tragedy. As many residents and city officials are quick to point out, people who go into the water when lifeguards aren’t at their posts take a huge, life-threatening risk. But at what point should the City of Long Beach take additional, practical measures to prevent future headline-grabbing tragedies before the summer season starts?

A few years ago, after a series of drowning deaths, the city added more signs and increased preseason beach patrols. But each spring it becomes clearer to many residents and visitors that more needs to be done. Unfortunately, there is no consensus among city officials on what that “more” should be. In the days after Nicole died, there was a brief attempt by police to enforce the preseason no-swimming rule, but it was just as quickly abandoned by the city. And sure enough, last Friday, three more people had to be rescued by still-off-duty lifeguards.

Complaining about how beachgoers from out of town ignore the signs isn’t doing any good. That most of the incidents over the last few summers have occurred at predictable times — prior to the start of seven-day lifeguard coverage and, equally important, in the early-evening hours, when it is still light and still hot, but lifeguards have gone off duty — should help city officials craft a response. The fact that a disproportionate number of recent cases have been visitors from New York City for whom English is a second language also needs to be taken into account.

The city needs to have a serious discussion about putting lifeguards on duty full-time weeks earlier than it does now, as some City Council members — and some longtime lifeguards — have suggested. And lifeguard supervisors should have the flexibility to keep one or more beaches open after the regular 6 p.m. closing time when the weather is hot and the beach remains full. Education can also play a role. People buying day passes to the beach, whether through the LIRR or at beach entrances, should be given information on ocean safety and swimming restrictions in a language they can understand. Warning signs should be posted in English and Spanish and any other languages that are appropriate.

If the major concern is cost, officials need to ask what the cost is to tourism of being know as the drowning capital of the Northeast. If staffing the entire four-mile stretch of beachfront for an additional month simply isn’t realistic, there must be a way to funnel weekday, preseason swimmers to a centrally located stretch of sand — from, say, National Boulevard to Long Beach Boulevard. The city just raised the price of beach admission by $3. Is all of that money going to beach maintenance and safety? It should. If adding yet another dollar or two to a day pass will raise enough money to expand lifeguard coverage, it should be done.

The drownings that have made news here almost certainly would not have happened if lifeguards had been working. Of course, a municipality can only do so much. Lifeguards and police can’t patrol the ocean 24 hours a day, and it’s inevitable that some people will foolishly venture into the water when the beach is unsupervised and get into trouble. Our current staffing schedule, however, all but invites such reckless behavior.

We’re encouraged by the city’s announcement that it has initiated a criminal investigation into Nicole Suriel’s death in an effort to answer all of the questions about why she died. City Manager Charles Theofan has said that he and other officials are going to look into new, “innovative” ways to create more awareness among visitors about swimming in Long Beach waters.

All well and good, but the best way to prevent more of these tragedies is to give one of the best lifeguard corps in the country a few more weeks of work. If the recent reports on the 11 o’clock news are any indication, the city's reputation may depend on it.