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Officials closed the beaches Monday after high levels of bacteria were detected in the water at Sea Gate beach in Brooklyn.

Cedar Grove Beach, Midland Beach, and South Beach -- all on Staten Island -- are also closed out of what officials called an "abundance of caution."

The Department of Environmental Protection had previously only advised against swimming at the affected beaches.

The decision to keep swimmers out of the water comes after millions of gallons of sewage spewed from the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Harlem following a fire last Wednesday.

The flow was capped on Saturday.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry, you know? If you have a cut on your toe or if you have an open wound and if the water is polluted, you know, you can get some type of infection. So rather be safe than sorry," said one Staten Island resident. "You have showers on the boardwalk that people can go to and from and that's the way to enjoy the day."

"There should have been some kind of contingency thing to protect the water, that's the lifeblood of New York. So it was just a bad situation," said another.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg toured the wastewater facility Tuesday, where he thanked workers as they continue to make repairs.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

DEP officials say they will not reopen the beaches until they are convinced the water is safe for swimming.

That was no consolation for businesses on the South Beach boardwalk.

"A day like this, I mean, this kills us. This is, like, 80 percent less than what we do," said a boardwalk cafe employee.

In the meantime, officials encourage residents to swim at all other open city beaches.