A City Council proposal to keep the city's beaches and pools open through the end of September hit a snag at a Wednesday hearing when the lifeguard union—yes, there is such a thing—said there would be no deal if it means its members have to stay home during the week, or if it means they won't get paid during cool weather.
Harlem Councilman Mark Levine proposed the bill in response to last year's hot September, when NYC experienced the hottest day of the year. Labor Day and the end of bathing season fell the day before, and school didn't start until two days later, prompting kids to get up to no good.
Public Advocate Letitia James proposed putting lifeguards on duty for longer, but Levine has taken the idea further, arguing for pools and beaches to remain open until September 30th, because climate change will only continue warming up Septembers. The caveat is that they would close during the week once school has begun.
During the hearing, Deputy Parks Commissioner Liam Kavanagh floated the idea of closing sections of beaches and pools to lower staffing levels, and expanding the Parks Department's power so that it could close beaches and pools on cool days.
But these proposals didn't sit well with the hundred lifeguard union members who crowded into the Council chambers for the proceedings.
"We aren't a private apartment house in Brighton Beach where [we say], 'Gee whiz, it looks like it's gonna rain. Let's close and send everyone home,'" said Peter Stein, president of DC37's Local 508, which represents lifeguard supervisors. "Those days are over with, folks. You'll have no one working if you attempt to go there."
About half of the 1,500 lifeguards the city hires each summer are students, according to Kavanagh, meaning it will be tough to schedule them once the school year has started. And Stein noted that to be a lifeguard, one has to be a good swimmer and willing to work for $14 an hour base pay, meaning the hiring pool is pretty limited.
"You can't legislate an elephant to fly," he said. "If the staffing isn't there, you can't open a beach or a pool."
Scolded by Councilman Mark Levin for clapping, members of DC37 and other parks employee unions clapped, then raised their hands to signal support for their reps. (Nathan Tempey/Gothamist)
The mayor's preliminary budget actually calls for cutting park staffing by more than 200 workers, DC37 director Henry Garrido noted, so bringing in more lifeguards, security, and maintenance staff to the tune of as much as $2.4 million a week, at peak staffing, would be a heavy lift indeed.
Kavanagh echoed the concerns about how to hire for such a weird schedule, and said that the historical temperatures for late September may make the season extension "not an appropriate investment." But both he and the union reps who spoke emphasized that they are not totally against the measure—yet.
Levine came out of the hearing with his conviction unshaken, arguing that the $10-million maximum allocation that the bill could carry is a sliver of the $77-billion budget, and that he is "open to any of those changes."
"I thought we had both overwhelming support for this from the workforce and an incredibly positive response from the administration. And I thought we heard really creative solutions for tackling the logistical challenges," he said. "But I heard nothing that we can't overcome."
As taxpayers, free entertainment enthusiasts, and climate realists, we hope they work something out. This as an expenditure sure beats sending Cuomo to Cuba.
