Shore is quiet at city beaches
Memorial Day was a washout for Big Apple beaches — and it didn’t even rain.
The typical crowds that flock to local shores never materialized over the holiday weekend, as beaches opened for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown, albeit with strict social-distancing restrictions and citywide no-swimming rules.
“We had more business on the worst rainy Memorial Days of my life,” said Jimmy Kokotas, owner of Tom’s Coney Island restaurant on the Brooklyn boardwalk. “We haven’t made enough money this weekend to cover the payroll.”
Kokotas, 47, said his only customers by noon were cops wanting coffee.
One bold group of beachgoers did manage to sneak in a quick dip.
“People can go on the train together, they can go on the beach together. But no swim together?” said one woman. “It’s a joke.”
Mayor de Blasio’s strict noswimming restriction drove some New Yorkers out to Long Island, where Gov. Cuomo is allowing state beaches to cordon off swimming areas.
“I came here because New York City beaches are closed,” said Jennifer Cruz, 33, who said she traveled 2 ¹/2 hours from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to Jones Beach State Park.
“Nothing would stop me from coming today,” Cruz said. “Not even the distance or the weather.”
Still, social-distancing requirements and an overcast morning may have been enough to keep most folks away — with or without swimming.
“I just ran five miles,” said Nayeem Malik, 35, of Queens Village. “What’s the point of staying if you can’t barbecue?
“Plus, it’s about social distancing. I don’t want to be around people.”