Two years and some $12 million of beach replenishment to the tune of 360,000 cubic yards of beach replenishment on the western edge of Rockaway Beach has, sadly, done little to remediate erosion and dangerous surfing and swimming conditions. After the passing of a surfer this spring and two teens last year, the National Parks Service has decided to prohibit surfing and surf-bathing along the beach this summer.
Jacob Riis Beach has about as storied a past as any in New York City. It has been envisioned and re-envisioned any number of ways, and it has borne witness to a number of cultural and countercultural movements. Being positioned on the far western edge of Long Island, it has also been the subject of shifting sands—thanks to hurricanes and developers alike.
The result has been a mess of sand moving every which way, which unfortunately exposes old pilings, jetties, and concrete walls comprising a series of 14 bays that simply have not stood up to the test of time, which, frankly, is the same old story told. That series of bays and the disbursement of sand from the jetties, pilings, and walls can, on occasion anyhow, set up some good surf for those who know when and where to look. No easy feat.
And it’s no easy feat to surf, either. Sebastián Lasaosa Rogers, the 35-year-old surfer and filmmaker who perished at the beach was among a small pod of surfers when his board was spotted tombstoning among the pilings. Surfers and rescuers did what they could, The Rockaway Times reported, but 20 minutes of CPR proved no use.
The National Park Service told New York City nonprofit newsroom Gothamist that it does not intend to deposit any more sand in the area in the near future, and that for now, Bay 1 will remain closed for the summer. Still, much of that section of beach remains unfinished and in disrepair following recent hurricanes, and entering the water anywhere around the western edge of the beach is best done with extreme caution, or not at all.
It’s also worth noting that this isn’t the first such loss of life on the old wooden piers along Rockaway Beach, and many have called for their removal, particularly since the rock jetties were put in place, but that—whether you ask the National Park Service or the Army Core of Engineers—is easier (and cheaper) said than done. For now, there are plenty of safer spots to find a wave without razor-sharp piling remnants plaguing the lineup, tempting though that uncrowded lineup may be.
Stay safe out there, folks.
More must-reads: