By Forum Staff
With the city’s beaches now open for the season, and Gotham heading into summer months, Mayor Eric Adams and officials from across city government briefed New Yorkers on Friday on a wide range of public safety efforts including expanded City Police Department presence in popular areas, enhanced beach and water patrols, impaired driving and traffic enforcement, heat emergency planning, and expanded programming for youth.
The NYPD is launching its 2025 summer crime reduction plan. More than 1,500 uniformed officers are being deployed to foot posts in 70 summer deployment zones, covering 57 precincts across all five boroughs and all eight police service areas. These officers will be assigned during evening hours when crime tends to spike, supported by mobile field forces, traffic safety teams, and narcotics units.
To bolster neighborhood presence, the NYPD has redeployed officers from administrative roles and added over 1,200 new police academy graduates since January. On weekends, each summer deployment command will assign a supervisor to monitor 311 complaints and dispatch a dedicated response vehicle to address quality-of-life concerns.
The NYPD’s new Quality of Life Division will also enforce regulations related to noise complaints, illegal mopeds and all-terrain vehicles, parking violations, and other common summer concerns.
Additionally, NYPD assets will be active in the subway, on the water, and in the air. These efforts aim to reduce violence, enhance livability, and ensure every New Yorker can enjoy a safe summer.
Adams announced additional efforts to keep beachgoers safe this year. During beach season, lifeguards are on duty daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Swimming is prohibited when lifeguards are not on duty and in closed sections. Closed sections are marked with signs and/or red flags. NYC Parks lifeguards are also on duty at all city outdoor pools, which open for the season beginning Friday, June 27, 2025, and will remain open daily between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Adams also announced that the City Department of Emergency Management will coordinate daily beach safety operations across the city’s 14 miles of beaches. This will include enhanced monitoring protocols for shark activity, and aerial drone teams assisting with both surveillance and multi-agency water rescues. Some drones are also capable of dropping personal flotation devices to outdoor swimmers, providing additional rescue capabilities. The NYPD and FDNY further announced the enhanced deployment of boats within New York Harbor to conduct waterside patrols, with specific attention to beaches this summer.
Every year, barbeque grills on residential properties cause more than 1,500 structural fires and 4,200 outdoor fires. Many of these fires occurred when a propane grill was used for the first time after winter storage. New Yorkers should perform a pre-season check for propane barbecue grills and review propane barbecue grilling operations. Additionally, propane and charcoal grills are banned on rooftops and in multi-unit buildings and the use of portable outdoor patio fireplaces, patio hearths, fire pits, and chimneys are strictly prohibited and illegal in the Big Apple.
The improper opening of fire hydrants can waste 1,000 gallons of water per minute or more, causing flooding on city streets and dropping water pressure to dangerously low levels, which can hamper the ability of the FDNY to fight fires safely and quickly. Use “spray caps” to reduce hydrant output to a safe 25 gallons per minute. To obtain a spray cap, an adult with proper identification can go to their local firehouse and request one.
