Long Beach unveils new rules to cut down on freeloading beachgoers with summer around the corner
LONG BEACH, Long Island (WABC) -- With summer-like temperatures sure to send people flocking to the beach this weekend, those looking for a getaway at Long Beach this summer, will soon have to pay.
After a long, dark winter, things are slowly coming alive in Long Beach.
A bike ride down the boardwalk, and a stolen moment on the sand is a snapshot of a season that isn't too far away.
The lazy, hazy days of summer. It's so close, you can taste it.
"It's just our backyard," said resident Anna Lobota. "A lot of houses here they don't have a backyard so we kind of all grow up with the beach."
Lobota and her dog Bacon came down in their matching sweatshirts for a brief summer preview at dusk.
A little more than 30,000 people live year-round in this South Shore city, and they stay mostly for one reason... the beach, which has been gloriously rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy.
Residents pay to use the beach in the summer, and visitors are supposed to pay $15 a day, but residents say some people try to cheat the system.
"There's some people that come for the day and try to game the system, whether that's passing passes back or going very fast or getting on the beach," said resident Nick Cascio.
But not anymore. The city unveiled a digital portal for buying beach passes, which will -- for the first time -- be waterproof wrist bands that are bar-coded for easy scanning by beach patrol.
So, no more freeloading.
"It is a public beach, but we treat it with respect, and we feel that we love when visitors come, but treat it with respect, that's all we ask," Cascio said.
Even though it will be warm on Saturday, the summer is still a couple of months away, but come Memorial Day, when the surf's up, city officials will be cracking down.
Come visit their beautiful beach but be prepared to pay.
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