Bethpage Air Show Called Off For Saturday Due To Weather
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach, Long Island, has been canceled for Saturday due to the rainy, bone-chilling weather.
Organizers said the air show will go on as planned on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Organizers of the air show said they were able to get in a good practice run Friday. But keeping a close eye on the weather, event planners warned on Friday that the air show could be called off for the first time in its 10-year history.
As WCBS 880's Jim Smith reported, some people turned out for the air show anyway Sunday, not realizing it had been canceled.
Bethpage Air Show Called Off For Saturday Due To Weather
"Let's go! We have VIP tickets and they cancelled it," said Barbara Rose of Ronkonkoma, who had braved the rain and wind to attend.
Rose said calling off the air show Saturday was for the best.
"I'd rather it be nice," she said. I didn't want to do this in the rain so I'm kind of glad they cancelled it."
George Gorman, deputy regional director for state parks, said it was an obvious choice.
"We are sorry obviously," he said. "The weather really made the decision for us."
Gorman said the cold rain could form ice in higher elevations, making it unsafe for the pilots. He hoped the weather would clear in time for Sunday.
Last year, more than 380,000 people attended the two-day festivities. Scheduled to perform this year were the Royal Canadian Air Force, parachute teams, and even helicopter aerobatics.
The 10th anniversary air show was expected to draw huge crowds – just as Robert Moses State Park and the Jones Beach Boardwalk reopened for the first time since Superstorm Sandy back on Oct. 29.
State parks commissioner Rose Harvey cut the ribbon Thursday morning officially reopening Robert Moses State Park.
Long Islanders also welcomed back the Jones Beach State Park boardwalk which reopened at sunrise Thursday.
Also canceled for Saturday is the 2013 Great Hudson River Swim, which had been scheduled to proceed 1.6 miles from the Christopher Street Pier in the West Village to Battery Park City.
The event will not be rescheduled this season, NYC Swim said.
Until 11 a.m., those who signed up were invited to pick up a souvenir T-shirt and see fellow swimmers and volunteers. Swimmers will receive a 50 percent credit toward a 2013 or 2014 swim series.
And in Nassau County, several beaches have been closed for swimming due to recent heavy rains and concern about contaminated storm water runoff.
On the North Shore, the beaches include:
• Centre Island Sound
• Creek Club
• Lattingtown Beach
• Laurel Hollow Beach
• Morgan Sound
• North Hempstead Beach Park
• Piping Rock Beach Club
• Prybil Beach
• Ransom Beach
• Roosevelt Beach
• Sea Cliff Village Beach
• Soundside Beach
• Stehli Beach
• Tappen Beach
On the South Shore:
• Biltmore Beach Club
• Hewlett Point Beach
• Island Park Beach
• Merrick Estates Civic Association
• Philip Healey Beach
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