Coronavirus Update: Long Island's Long Beach Boardwalk Closes Indefinitely
LONG BEACH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - The Long Beach Boardwalk in Long Island is closed indefinitely due to crowd control concerns mandated after the spread of coronavirus in the Tri-State area.
While the beach itself is still open, gates and barriers are now in place from each entrance of the 2.2-mile boardwalk. The new measures were put in place because a high number of first responders and health care providers call Long Beach home.
Residents Charles and Karen Bernowich are firmly in favor of this safety measure.
"People were coming here like it was a social scene," said Karen Bernowich in an interview with CBS2's Jennifer McLogan.
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While popular Long Island destinations are closing down to encourage social distancing, places like Eisenhower Park are being used as drop off sites for medical supplies.
Malverne resident Ellen Rosenthal is grateful for all the efforts of the first responders.
"I think what they're doing is incredible," said Rosenthal. "They've chosen this field, but they didn't choose these circumstances. I think we all have to do our part."
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While some places are closing, others are opening. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran addressed access to golf courses at her press conference on Friday.
"The golf courses are officially reopened with some modifications to accommodate social distancing."
New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are all following separate directives when it comes to park and golf course closures.
Westbury resident Brian Rappaport is like a lot of other people who are adapting to all the changes on the golf course.
"Only one person can go in and pay for the whole group," said Rappaport.
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Some of the new measures implemented at Long Island golf courses are one rider per golf cart, the golf carts will be sanitized after use and no touching of the pin flags or bunker rakes. There are also staggered swing times at driving ranges and tee times have 16 minutes between them.
"If you play like we do, one hits it to the right and one hits it to the left. There's a lot of social distancing," said Atlantic Beach resident Ed Radburn.
Police are enforcing social distancing at golf courses and parks and reminding parents that playgrounds are closed, even if there is no fencing.
