By Forum Staff
Following the June 21 deaths of city teens Elyjha Chandler and Christian Perkins in the waters off Rockaway Beach, Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. and area leaders called for the implementation of new swim safety measures to prevent future loss of life.
According to Richards’ office, approximately a dozen people have drowned in the waters off Rockaway Beach in the last five years, including seven individuals in 2019 alone — more than half of whom were teenagers.
Three other young people in their late teens and early 20s lost their lives off Rockaway Beach between 2022 and 2023, while 13-year-old friends Daniel Persaud and Ryan Wong drowned in Jamaica Bay in 2022.
Photo Courtesy of Borough President Richards
“It’s on us to keep ourselves safe at the end of the day,” Borough President Richards said.
During a Tuesday morning press conference on the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk at Beach 94th Street, Richards said the City needs to:
- Extend the time lifeguards are on duty until at least 7pm. During heat waves, people stay at the beach longer, so our lifeguards should too.
- Extend the beach season beyond early September. Summers are only getting longer and hotter as climate change creeps in.
- Build more community pools, which is what my office is working on doing in locations across Rockaway.
- Keep existing pools within schools open all summer long for community swim.
- Invest in groups like the Swim Strong Foundation and help more kids learn to swim.
- Come to the table with the lifeguards’ union and negotiate a way to scale up the number of lifeguards our City can hire. We’re an oceanfront city of 9 million people. Under no circumstances should we have a shortage of lifeguards every year.
“Lastly, it’s on us to keep ourselves safe at the end of the day. If you’re at the beach and there isn’t a lifeguard on duty, DO NOT SWIM,” Richards cautioned. “The ocean is NOT a pool. Even on sunny and calm days, those rip currents can sweep even the best swimmers away in seconds.”
