Local elected officials, water safety advocates and families of drowning victims gathered on Friday, Sept 20, to honor the lives of seven New Yorkers who drowned this summer.
Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Members Selvena Brooks-Powers, Joann Ariola and Shekar Krishnan attended the solemn event in Far Rockaway.
Friday’s ceremony precedes a hearing set for Tuesday, Sept. 24, focused on propelling initiatives to prevent drownings at the city’s beaches and pools.
The City Council’s Committee on Parks and Recreations will consider several bills to expand water safety initiatives, including creating an interactive map to post information regarding swimming pools, studying the feasibility of starting a junior lifeguard corps to develop a pipeline of new lifeguards and distributing water safety materials in schools.
The proposed legislation builds on the Council’s previous efforts to prevent drownings at the city’s beaches.
According to a City Council analysis, more than 3 million New Yorkers live in city council districts without a single public pool.
Many council members said it is time for the city to take more action to prevent drowning tragedies.
Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement that the recent drowning deaths of seven New Yorkers is a “ tragic reminder” that the city needs to prioritize comprehensive water safety education.
“Water safety is a matter of life and death. In addition to more lifeguards and free swimming classes, we must educate New Yorkers on how to spot danger in our volatile and unpredictable waters so that we can protect ourselves. As a city, it is our responsibility to prevent these avoidable tragedies, and I am committed to working with stakeholders across our government to ensure that New Yorkers know how to keep themselves safe,” Adams said.
Powers echoed Adams’ statement, adding that the Rockaways and other coastal communities can be dangerous for residents who haven’t learned to swim. Powers added that the City Council is committed to swimming access and equity through initiatives, including Local Law 132, a bill Powers introduced that improves pool access for communities without that infrastructure.
“I stand with the families who have tragically lost their loved ones this year to drownings and honor the memories of those we’ve lost by ensuring their stories lead to meaningful change,” Powers said in a statement.
Representatives from various water safety organizations, including Commonpoint, Swim Strong Foundation and Rising Tide Effect, highlighted the importance of swim instruction and swim safety education in combatting drownings.
“Our goal at Commonpoint is to provide barrier-free, essential water safety instruction for our children and families,” Craig Lasters, COO of Commonpoint, said in a statement. “Providing swim instruction for all children will not only make our beaches and pool safer but also allow us to empower our youth to be the next generation of lifeguards and swim instructors.”
Shawn Slevin, executive director of Swim Strong, encouraged school leadership to schedule free water safety programming for students through the organization.
“How do we stop the drowning? Implement a layered approach that includes educating our citizens about Situational Knowledge of Water to help us all manage the risk when in, on, and around water. Swim Strong has reached 55,000 students with our free “A Conversation About Water Safety,” supported by the Speaker’s Initiative,” Slevin said in a statement.
Kaitlin Krause, executive director of Rising Tide Effect, said more urgent action is needed to protect communities from drowning tragedies.
“Seven more young lives lost is completely unacceptable, and my heart goes out to the families enduring the unimaginable pain of their loss,” Krause said in a statement. “The Rockaway Peninsula is the deadliest stretch of coastline in the city and has been for over 20 years. Conditions like rip currents are only intensifying due to the growing impact of climate change, with storms becoming more frequent and severe. It’s sickening and deeply troubling that we’re not making progress in preventing these tragedies.”
