What’s The Cleanest Beach In New York?

New York might give you a big city feel, thinking about shopping and the hustle and bustle. Even though there are great beaches, thinking about a beach might not be the number one thought. So if you want to visit New York, remember your bathing suit on a hot summer’s day. What’s the cleanest beach in New York to visit?

The cleanest beach in New York is Long Beach. It ranked as one of the top ten most sanitary beaches in the U.S. Known as “the city by the sea,” Long Beach has the correct departments to look after the beach and keep it clean.

The National Resources Defence Council (NRCD) named Long Beach one of the cleanest beaches. They conduct many tests to ensure the water meets State ocean water quality standards.

How Is The Cleanliness Of A Beach Measured

How do you measure the water of an entire beach and get a result of contamination or cleanliness? That sound impossible, but where there is a will, a city can do anything.

Long Beach has a 4-mile stretch of sand with a few bays inviting the public to enjoy it. The water gets tested every day to make sure the visitors do not get home with an infection or upset stomach.

The water pollution control plant takes samples every day to get a weekly summary of the bacteria levels in the water. They do three bacterial tests: total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococcus. These bacteria may be present because of natural causes, warm-blooded animals, or runoff from heavy rainfall and can cause diseases related to bacteria, viruses, or protozoa.

The different symptoms and diseases caused by some of the organisms found in ocean waters are:

ORGANISM	DISEASE	SYMPTOMS
E.coli	Gastroenteritis	Causes diarrhea and fever
Salmonella	Salmonellosis	Causes diarrhea, cramps, fever, and nausea
Shigella	Shigellosis	Causes diarrhea, cramps, fever, and nausea
Rotavirus	Gastroenteritis	Causes diarrhea and fever
Norwalk virus	Gastroenteritis	Causes diarrhea and fever
Hepatitis A	Infectious hepatitis	Causes fever, nausea, and jaundice
Giardia Lamblia	Giardiasis	Causes diarrhea, cramps, and fatigue
Cryptospordium Amebiasis	Cryptospordiasis Amebiasis	Causes bloody diarrhea, cramps, nausea, fever, and weight loss

As you can see, this can be pretty serious, which is why testing is so important. Luckily, Long Beach is one of the cleanest, but the correct measures are in place should there be an area on this 7 miles of beach that tests above the standard.

When the score is above a certain amount, making it risky for people to swim, the city puts up a warning board to let the public know that part of the beach is closed. You should avoid 50-75 yards on either side from the sign before entering the water again.

A general rule or guideline is that the public should not enter the ocean at least 72 hours after rainfall due to the sewerage and drain runoff from the street into the sea.

For the past few years, since 2014, Long Beach has passed with flying colors and got the “superstar” status for cleanliness.

Maintaining The Cleanest Beach Status

To stay the cleanest beach in New York, the city of Long Beach needs to have departments in place to look after certain parts of the beach.

Beach maintenance department – This department’s role is to keep the boardwalk (rebuilt after storm Sandy destroyed it in 2012) under maintenance and oversee any clean-up of the beaches after a shower or natural occurrence.

Beach park department – Look after the beach itself, activities happening on the beach, and times when the beach is open. Keeping to strict rules for beachgoers ensures the beach stays clean.

Lifeguard patrol department – They ensure that swimmers and surfers are safe during the months the beach park is open, usually in summer. They are available from 9 am to 6 pm seven days a week.

Sanitation and recycle department – they have days and times in place for pickup, and the pickup for the shoreline is six days a week. The system ensures that no garbage could end up on the beach.

The sewer maintenance department controls repairing maintenance holes, cleaning storm drains, and repairing any sanitizing collection systems.

Water pollution control plant – they are responsible for testing the water and keeping a close eye on any problem.

Why Long Beach, NY Is So Clean

Long Beach might keep its status as the cleanest beach in New York because of its rules and regulations regarding the beach and visiting the beach for leisure.

Entrance Fee To Visit Long Beach, NY

You can download an app on your mobile phone and show it each time you visit the beach. A season pass is $170 for a non-resident and $100 for 10-day access as a resident. They have special offers for pensioners, the disabled, children, and families.

Prohibitions At Long Beach, NY

The city of Long Beach prohibits a few things from beaches to ensure the beaches are clean and safe for visitors and residents.

No swimming is allowed when the lifeguards are not present. Thus, no swimming when there are no flags.
No pets are allowed on the beach.
No smoking on the beach or boardwalk: cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaping, pipes, or marijuana.
No glass bottles or drinking of alcohol is permitted.
No littering on the beach or boardwalk is allowed.
No fires are permitted on the beach: not for bonfires or cooking.
If you dig a hole, close it before you leave.
No music or loud noises are allowed.
No Skateboarding or skating is allowed on the boardwalk.
No plastic utensils are allowed. They encourage beachgoers to use recyclable materials as far as possible.

Ways To Enjoy The Cleanest Beach In New York

As Long Beach won the title of the cleanest beach in New York for a few years, many visitors love to come here. The city has focussed on implementing many attractions for beachgoers.

The city of Long Beach rebuilt the boardwalk in 2013 after storm Sandy destroyed it, and it is better than before. With rules implemented on the passage, visitors can enjoy a stroll on this 2,2-mile boardwalk taking in the beautiful ocean and views of a clean beach.

Children can enjoy a play park nearby, cool off with ice cream from Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices, or even go for surfing lessons. There are enough small and exciting restaurants around the beach to ensure visitors support the restaurants instead of taking their food to the beach and littering.

Conclusion

A more secluded beach in New York to enjoy the view and not so much for swimming and surfing is Fort Tilden Beach. With no lifeguards and thus not much traffic, this beach can give you a peaceful time.

Long Beach is the destination to go to for your family vacation, take advantage of the incredible waves, or enjoy a clean and looked after beach. It might cost you a few dollars and awareness to stick to the rules, but these things make the magic happen.

References

Chrissie Smuts

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