With lifeguards on duty, people flock to Long Beach

In the wake of the drowning of a 12-year-old girl and the near-drowning of a 21-year-old man last week, people flocked to the long stretch of sand in Long Beach Saturday, the first day lifeguards were officially on duty.

With a hot sun overhead and temperatures reaching the mid-80s, beachgoers took to the water for relief, many with safety on their mind.

"I grew up learning that you had to respect the water," said Amy Kaufman, 40, from Westchester, who lived in Long Beach until she was 18 years old. "You can never go in too deep and never swim without lifeguards."

Ron Annicaro, 60, of Queens, who has been swimming off Long Beach since he was 13, said, "You just have to be cautious."

"Sometimes water changes and riptides happen," Annicaro said. "I myself have had to be helped out of the water four times."

Lifeguards monitored swimming conditions, directing swimmers between green flags and blowing their whistles when swimmers drifted too far out or into no-swimming zones. The National Weather Service said there was a moderate risk of rip currents at Atlantic beaches.

Beachgoer Patricia Pabon, 28, of Massapequa, who has been swimming at Long Beach for 10 years, said she trusted the lifeguards. "They do a good job making you swim between the green flags," she said.

After people paid to enter the beach - a daily pass costs $12 - they were given cards that said, "No swimming permitted when lifeguards are not on duty."

The beach has already seen tragedy ahead of the official swim season with the death last week of Nicole Suriel, 12, of Harlem. Friday, a 21-year-old man had to be pulled from the water. He survived.

On Wednesday, Long Beach City Manager Charles Theofan said police would ticket people who refused to leave the water until the summer lifeguard season.

But after what he said was "a barrage of complaints," he retracted his decision the following day with the approval of the city's chief of lifeguards.

"I think it was a good idea," Kaufman said of the ticketing. "Not everyone knows the rules, and some are disregarding the posted signs."

Suriel's drowning was fresh in the mind of Mike and Sharon Desimone, of Brooklyn, who spent the day at the beach with their two boys.

"The drowning was terrible, and it makes you worry even more with kids in the ocean," said Sharon Desimone, 39.

"I would never let my boys swim without the lifeguards," said Mike Desimone, 45.