New York City taking precautions amid 3rd heat wave of the season
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City is in the middle of the third heat wave of the season and officials are taking precautions to keep people safe.
As another round of extreme heat grips the Tri-State area, the city is increasing staffing on some the beaches this week, although they will not keep lifeguards past 6 p.m.
Additional personnel will be staffed at beaches this week, including with NYPD, FDNY, EMS and drone teams, but beaches will keep their normal hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"People should not be swimming after 6 p.m. with no lifeguards on duty, what we have done is starting last year, the mayor had us put together an interagency team, initially around after the shark attack last year, we put together a shark protocol that involved parks, NYPD, FDNY, EMS," said Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol. "We have a team, that interagency team is out at the beaches, they have a daily ops meeting, which agency will be covering which part of the beaches, they have the drones with the life preservers, they are also looking for sharks and because of some of the recent incidents we've extended their hours, we've included some additional EMS personnel out there."
Iscol said people should continue to follow best practices on the beach, but as an added precaution, the city has increased some staffing on certain days.
Cooling centers will be open at least through Tuesday and the city's largest pools will be open later for the next several days.
Olympic and intermediate pools will be open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Wednesday and many other pools will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The MTA has also taken steps to ensure that riders are comfortable while waiting for trains where air conditioning is available, and on trains and buses.
"At the MTA, we are no stranger to extreme weather preparations, whether it's snow, rain, or extreme heat. Our game plan is the same - keep employees and riders safe while providing great service," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "The Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North are also going to have all air-conditioned waiting rooms open for everybody to come and cool off."
Mayor Eric Adams said he is in touch with utility partners at Con Edison and PSEG Long Island to monitor the electric system. He urged New Yorkers to minimize the use of energy consumption to avoid potential blackouts.
Additionally, the Department of Homeless Services has issued a code red.
Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said climate change and extreme heat are a public health crisis. He said more than 300 New Yorkers die of heat-related deaths each year.
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