Don’t forget it: Orchard Beach is the gem of the Bronx!

Make the most of your #SummerOfNYC and catch some rays and waves this weekend. #InTheBronx pic.twitter.com/TJOoQ4CgrB

— City of New York (@nycgov) July 30, 2021

Dear Commons Community,

Mara Gay, a member of the New York Times editorial board, has a piece today entitled, When It Comes to Swimming, Why Have Americans Been Left on Their Own?  She laments that too many Americans do not have safe places to swim, a situation exasperated this summer by people seeking relief from the prolonged heat waves blanketing parts of our country. Here is an excerpt.

“In this summer’s widespread heat wave, millions of Americans are sweating it out without a safe place to swim. The dearth of public pools makes it harder to learn basic water safety skills or simply cool off in a country broiling from the extreme heat of climate change. The problem has been exacerbated in recent years by a national lifeguard shortage, leading to partly closed beaches and public pools. Along the New York City waterfront this summer, hordes of swimmers are crowding together in small sections of sand while expanses of beach sit empty for want of lifeguards. Lines of sweaty New Yorkers form outside city pools that are operating at reduced capacity….

One reason drowning rates are so high is that when a safe place to swim isn’t readily available, Americans often enter the water anyway, seeking relief from the heat wherever they can. In New York City alone, at least four teenagers have drowned since 2010 trying to swim in the Bronx River. The Bronx is home to more than 1.4 million people but has just eight open public pools. That’s about one pool for every 175,000 people. The most beloved public pools, when they receive good investment, attract Americans of many backgrounds, creating a space for people to swim and play together who may not otherwise interact. Like libraries and parks, they are an essential piece of social infrastructure in a democracy.”

Gay concludes:  “Every American deserves the chance to swim somewhere just as nice.”

As a child growing up in the Bronx in the 1950s, I learned how to swim at Orchard Beach (see video above). It was and still is “the gem of the Bronx.”

Tony

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