Long Island beaches reopen to swimmers with restrictions, caution urged at Jersey Shore beaches
JONES BEACH, Long Island (WABC) -- Swimming is resuming on the South Shore of Long Island today, although some beaches will have restrictions due to rough surf.
The welcome news comes as many people plan to go to the beach this holiday weekend.
Jones Beach, Robert Moses, and Hither Hills state parks will reopen to swimming on Friday, per a state official.
Tidal flooding continues at Jones Beach, although with less standing water than Thursday. The bulldozer returned Friday morning, making a path in the sand to clear more of the standing water back into the ocean.
Lifeguards at other beaches are going to ask swimmers to stay close to the shore due to rough surf and rip currents.
Hempstead Town's beaches including Point Lookout Beach, Lido Beach, Lido Beach West, and Atlantic Beach, will allow swimmers to go waist-deep only.
Long Beach is also asking swimmers to stay in waist-deep water only, the same as the day prior.
Oyster Bay is keeping the red flags at Tobay Beach up Friday morning and is continuing to restrict swimming. Lifeguards will reevaluate at midday and later as needed.
Lifeguards will continue to watch conditions throughout the day, with rip currents and high surf from offshore continuing to cause concerns at the shore break.
Swimmers on the Jersey Shore are also being urged to use caution in the water due to rip currents.
And swimmers are not the only ones who've had to navigate rough waters. Business this summer in Coney Island wasn't as booming as some vendors hoped for. The manager of Paul's Daughter, a boardwalk bar and eatery, attributes that to a number of factors.
"Lot of weather problems, the fires from Canada, the heat, you name it, the windstorms," manager Stephen Gaffney said.
Gaffney says the beer, seafood and burger joint is still patiently waiting for that pre-pandemic spike in customers. There's a lot riding on the upcoming long weekend.
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