Lifeguard shortage again strikes NYC pools and beaches, Parks commissioner says
They need a lifeline of their own.
New York City is heading into summer with only about a third of the lifeguards it needs to man its scores of public pools and open beaches — an ominous sign that yet another season of staffing shortages is likely despite a months-long recruiting push.
Right now, the city only has about 500 lifeguards ready to work, including 200 new recruits and 280 who are returning to duty, Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Sue Donoghue told city council members at a Monday hearing.
That’s far shy of the 1,400 or so the department would prefer to have, she said — or the 800 to 900 it employed last summer.
“We’re doing all that we can to recruit and train as many lifeguards as possible,” Donoghue said. “We are clearly still facing a very challenging hiring environment.”
The city — and the nation — faced similar hurdles last season when it came to hiring staffers. A national shortage of vigilant water watchers reportedly forced local pools throughout the nation to close, or at least cut short their hours.
The city upped its recruitment efforts beginning in September 2022, Donoghue said. And it upped the pay for first- and second-year lifeguards to $21 an hour.
But despite the ongoing manpower troubles, the Big Apple was able to open all its swimming facilities last year, Donoghue said, including its nearly 100 indoor and outdoor pools and 14 miles worth of beaches.
City Councilman Shekar Krishnan called the shortages a “crisis” during the hearing.
“This council has been very committed to expanding pool access for all New Yorkers in the city,” Krishnan said. “But we can’t do so if we don’t have the appropriate and adequate staffing across our pools and beaches.”
But even with the pay bump and the recruiting drive, the department has had trouble filling the vacant lifeguard spots, he said. And this did sometimes shorten facilities’ hours of operation.
That’s left some New Yorkers worried.
Danzy Fils, a 40-year-old NYPD dispatcher from Crown Heights, said her 4-year-old daughter takes swimming lessons at the British Swim School in Brooklyn, and she’s had trouble finding city swim instructors in the past.
“The pool I’m at now is expensive, but if I were to find her lessons at a city pool and there’s no one to teach her because there’s not enough candidates for the job — that’s really concerning,” Fils told The Post.
“It’s an important job to be a lifeguard,” Fils continued. “Whether you’re at a pool or the beach, you’re responsible for kids’ lives. And in the summer, it gets really hot — people need the pool, you need the beaches. If you can’t hire qualified people to be lifeguards, then you need to pay them more.”
Others wondered why the city hasn’t figured out how to solve what’s become an annual problem.
“We have to be prepared for things!” said James McDoweln, a 77-year-old from Crown Heights who likes going to Far Rockaway in the summer. “You can’t be addressing things at the last minute, hopping around like a frog.”
“How are you not prepared for a shortage?” he asked. “They know it’s coming. That’s bad management in my opinion. It’s an every-year thing — you need lifeguards!”
City beaches are set to open later this month, while the pools will pull their covers off at the end of June, Donoghue said.
She anticipates they’ll be open for one shift — about 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. — unless more lifeguards sign on.
“If we had more lifeguards, we’d be able to offer early morning and later evening shifts,” Donoghue said.
