When the coronavirus began battering New York City in March and April, the mercury rarely hit above 40 degrees, making Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus stay-at-home order just a bit more tolerable.
But as the Big Apple begins to thaw and prepare for a sweltering summer, many New Yorkers are as eager as ever to hit beaches, pools and parks to soak up some rays and get out of their tiny apartments — if they can.
Here is when and where you will be able to go — and how you can expect the city’s outdoor recreation spaces to change due to COVID-19.
When will beaches, pools and playgrounds reopen in New York City?
Beaches run by the New York State Parks Department, like Jones Beach State Park and Robert Moses State Park, will open Memorial Day weekend, starting Friday May 22 — but at 50 percent capacity, Cuomo announced last week.
Beaches run by the federal National Park Service are already accessible and will remain partially-open — as long as everyone is following social distancing orders recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Brenda Ling, the Public Affairs officer for NPS’s Gateway National Recreation Area.
Jacob Riis Park and Ft. Tilden Beach will be accessible in Queens, but it’s not yet clear if Riis will have lifeguards, Ling told The Post, which is why they are only considered partially-opened at this point.
Ft. Tilden, which is inaccessible via public transportation and only has a small, permit-required parking lot, does not traditionally have lifeguards.
“[Beachgoers] shouldn’t go swimming if there are no lifeguards” but the beach will be open for sunbathing, hiking, walking, biking and other “passive activities,” Ling said.
Beachgoers seeking to access the Fishermen’s Parking Lot at Fort Tilden can use their 2019 permit for access — no new permits will be given out as facilities are temporarily closed.
Big Apple, city-run beaches like Coney Island and Rockaway Beach usually mark their official opening on Memorial Day but Mayor Bill de Blasio said that won’t be happening this year.
People will still be allowed to stroll along the sand, he said Sunday — but warned that the city will fence it off if crowds get out of hand, or people can’t resist the water.
And don’t expect any respite from the city’s public pools — they will also be shuttered until 2021 thanks to coronavirus-induced cost-cutting.
Big Apple green spaces like Prospect Park and Central Park have all remained open throughout the pandemic, but Cuomo closed playgrounds on April 1 after they continued to attract crowds, even in the cool weather.
De Blasio’s office said Thursday that a playground reopening date has not yet been set.
City Councilman Peter Koo, chair of the Committee on Parks and Recreation, said while he doesn’t “have a crystal ball,” he predicts outdoor recreational sports in the Big Apple should be able to resume by September.
It doesn’t appear as if city parks will have entertainment again until at least July 1, when a series of outdoor, real life events in the Bronx and Manhattan are technically scheduled to go on, according to the parks department’s online calendar.
Every other outdoor, previously scheduled event is cancelled through June 30 as part of a citywide directive to cancel all non-essential gatherings.
What will the ‘new normal’ look like for outdoor spaces in NYC?
Expect less fun in the sun.
Under Cuomo’s beach and lakeshore reopening plan, the state parks will be restricted to 50 percent capacity and sports like volleyball and football will not be allowed on the sand. Areas for social gatherings like picnic areas and playgrounds will be closed, along with food stands, Cuomo said.
For national sites, Ling said there will be “no picnicking, team sports, group gatherings” and there will be signs “throughout the park” reiterating the guidelines. The Riis Bazaar will still be selling food, however, Ling said.
When asked if the U.S. Parks Police will be out enforcing social distancing, Ling said “it will depend on the situation.”
“They’ll likely disperse any team sports, for example,” Ling said.
Despite de Blasio’s beach closures and fencing threats, insiders predict big crowds on city beaches too — and that authorities will struggle to contain the masses.
“Whether the city allows it or not, people don’t care. They’re tired of being tied up. They just want to get out,” said Pat Singer, head of the Brighton Beach Neighborhood Association.
“We won’t have enough enforcement people to stop it. The city doesn’t have a pot to piss in to pay for extra enforcement.”
Officially open or otherwise, Dr. Henry Raymond, an epidemiologist from the Rutgers School of Public Health, said beach bums will literally have “to draw a line in the sand” in order to enjoy them at a safe distance from others.
“Like the volleyball lines in the sand, give people their space and encourage them to stay in it,” Raymond said.
But, he noted, outdoor spaces are still less risky.
“We know for the most part, if there’s space or if there’s wind in the outdoors, then it’s much less likely to transmit from one person to another,” he said. “Beaches and parks, that would be the least risky to me provided that people maintain social distancing, maybe even add [stipulations that people] continue to wear facial coverings.”
Meanwhile, in the city’s parks, some insiders expect a more orderly experience than in the pre-pandemic era — and others foresee more chaos.
Dan Biederman, executive director of Bryant Park Corporation and president of the 34th Street Partnership, said the Midtown green space will be making a series of changes so the area can be enjoyed safely.
“[Bryant Park] hosts picnics on blankets, with entertainment from the likes of the New York City Opera, Carnegie Hall musicians and so forth. We’re thinking of not having blankets this year and using the chairs on the lawn. You could spread people widely and have them listen to terrific music and theater,” he said.
He added that it could be implementing a “actual markers on the grass” where people can claim a spot for whatever event may be taking place.
That kind of system is already in place at Brooklyn’s waterfront Domino Park in Williamsburg, where white circles were placed on the ground to keep visitors apart last week after the hot-spot attracted huge crowds.
But with the city’s budget cuts, some advocates expect aesthetics and enforcement to suffer at many open spaces.
Geoffrey Croft, who runs the non-profit NYC Parks Advocates, expects to see much dirtier spaces, without the budget for the seasonal workers who help keep parks clean during the summer months.
“Newspaper, dog waste, beer bottles, diapers. I mean anything you can possibly imagine. It won’t be just overflowing garbage but people leaving their waste right where it is,” he said. He added the extra mess will also bring an abundance of “rats.”
Emily Walker from advocacy and watchdog group New Yorkers for Parks, said over 300 staffers are in danger of losing their jobs in June after securing the gigs through the $44-million Play Fair for Parks Campaign, which is expected to be cut with the mayor’s budget slashings.
“We certainly don’t want this to be a beginning of a backsliding to park conditions of the late 70s and early 80s, when the system was not kept to the standard of care that it should have been and parks became unsafe for public use,” she said.