Thursday, July 10, 2025
With summer officially in full swing, the Town of Hempstead announced it will be extending town beach and pool hours through Wednesday, June 25.
Nassau County, and much of the northeast, is in an "extreme heat watch" through Tuesday, June 24. Heat index values, which represents how hot it actually feels, are expected to feel up to 105 degrees according to AccuWeather.
To combat the extreme heat, town beach and pool hours will be extended from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“Although we’ve had plenty of rainy weekends this year, the first official week of summer is starting off with a bang,” Clavin said. “Temperatures are heating up and will feel like triple-digit heat through Wednesday. We are proud to offer town residents the opportunity to cool off with public cooling centers, along with an extra hour at town pools at beaches.”
Cooling centers will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following locations:
Baldwin Senior Center, 1810 N. Grand Ave., Baldwin
Green Acres Senior Center, 400 Flower Road, Valley Stream
Salisbury Senior Center, 460 Salisbury Park Drive, Westbury
Uniondale-Hempstead Senior Center, 840 Uniondale Ave., Uniondale
“The summer is a wonderful time here in America’s largest township – let’s make the most of it while enjoying beautiful pools, beaches, and everything that the Town of Hempstead has to offer,” Clavin said.
For more on pool and beach hours, visit HempsteadNY.gov.
At a news conference at Wantagh Park on June 23, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, joined by members of the county police department’s marine bureau and Stew Leonard Jr., offered safety tips for the summer swim season.
Blakeman urged residents to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, and keep their cellphones charged in case of a power outage. If an outage occurs, he recommends calling PSEG and using cooling centers throughout the county.
“Heat stroke is a real, real issue when it gets this hot,” Blakeman said. “So we got to make sure that everybody gets the message.”
With pools now open, Blakeman also emphasized the importance of pool safety. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more children aged 1 to 4 die from drowning than any other cause, he noted.
For pool parties, Blakeman advised assigning someone as a designated lifeguard to watch children, using pool alarms, and keeping gates locked.
“If you have a pool, do not leave your children for one second unattended,” he said. “It only takes a couple of seconds for a child to drown. If you're having a pool party, do not assume that somebody is watching the kids in the pool.”
Blakeman also stressed the importance of wearing life jackets while boating, especially for children.
He added that the county has openings for residents to become certified lifeguards. Those interested can visit the Nassau County website and click on the parks department page for more information and registration.
Joining Blakeman at the event was Stew Leonard Jr., president and CEO of the Connecticut-based supermarket chain. Leonard shared a personal story: in 1989, his 21-month-old son, Stew Leonard III, died in a drowning accident. The following year, Leonard and his wife, Kim, founded the Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation in their son’s memory. The foundation raises money for water safety awareness, funds lifeguard training, and provides swim lessons for children in need.
There were seven reported drownings in the county last year, two of which were fatal, Blakeman said.
“We want to avoid that this year,” he said. “We want to make sure that everybody has a safe and healthy summer.”
Additional reporting by Charles Shaw
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