NYCs illogical leftists get slapped by beach-season reality

On the surface, it looks like something unusually positive in New York City politics: a City Council proposal that would directly improve quality of life for the poor at little cost.Queens Democrat Shekar Krishnan, along with 19 co-sponsors, is pushing a bill that would open NYC beaches and outdoor pools for swimming in mid-May and extend beach season into October.Naturally, Krishnan had to link his idea to global warming.“As climate change lengthens our summers, we need to ensure people can enjoy the beach safely,” he said last week.But it’s attractive for another reason: Good parks and healthy recreation are key amenities for lower-income neighborhoods like the one he represents. It’s an example of what progressives are calling “pre-distribution” — programs that mitigate the experience of inequality by changing the rules of the game.Some such strategies are counterproductive: Think raising the minimum wage, which only suppresses entry-level employment.But improving parks and recreation is a constructive approach, because these public amenities boost the livability of lower-income neighborhoods. Poor neighborhoods can and should be good neighborhoods — if they have clean, safe parks and playgrounds (not to mention good schools and safe streets).Typically, however, the beach bill’s progressive sponsors — including many who should know better, like Speaker Julie Menin — have failed to consider the practicalities.There’s a good reason existing beach season is closely tied to the school calendar: That’s when the lifeguards are available.“Our staffing ranks begin to decrease as the season nears its end, since most of our seasonal lifeguards are students that need to return to school or .

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teachers” who must go back to the classroom, the Parks Department told me. Beaches without lifeguards are no better an idea than city-owned supermarkets.And the need is vast: The city boasts eight public beaches — encompassing 14 miles of shoreli...