No Day At The Beach For Overheated Staten Island
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Saturday's extreme heat was especially hard for residents on Staten Island, where there was a water advisory at three of the borough's beaches. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report. On a normal weekend the ball fields at Corporal Thompson Park in West Brighton, Staten Island are teeming with kids playing football or soccer.
That was not the case on Saturday, when there were only three people in the park, not a single runner on the track and no children splashing in the sprinklers.
"It's the heat. It's been very hot recently and everything like that. Usually they have the kids outside playing football, practicing soccer or baseball, but it's kind of odd today," said a local. "I guess it's the heat."
Still, in Midland Beach, plenty of New Yorkers did enjoy the sprinkler there, including a chocolate labrador named Baxter.
"This cools him right off. As soon as he goes in the car, he relaxes, makes it easier for him to swim and rest," said Baxter's owner.
Swimmers were advised not to go in the water at Midland Beach, South Beach and Cedar Grove Beach on Staten Island, as well as Brooklyn's Sea Gate Beach. The advisory was due to a fire at a water treatment plant earlier in the week that caused millions of gallons of sewage to spill into the Hudson River.
The city health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Farley, said there was some good news about the water quality, but not enough to lift the warning just yet.
"The testing of water samples from the beaches from yesterday did not show elevated levels of bacteria. However, because the situation is still fluid with the plant, we're still recommending that people not have contact with the water in the Hudson River, the Harlem River or the East River," said Farley.
At nearby South Beach, some people did not seem to get the message. As the beachgoers were cooling off in the water, they told NY1 there were not aware of an advisory, though the beach had plenty of signs warning people not to swim.
"I just went in that water because it's too hot. So I was out in the water, it was pretty nice," said a bather. "What's out there?"
DOH officials promised to update New Yorkers as soon as they knew more.