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If you’re already dreaming of long summer days stretched out on the sand by the Atlantic, the City of New York is way ahead of you.
The New York Police Department has already initiated safety upgrades for swimmers at New York City beaches for this upcoming summer.
Safety drones will be deployed over swimming areas at beaches, starting with Coney Island, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Wednesday. Aside from lifeguard help, these drones will be able to lower a floatation device into the ocean if a swimmer is struggling. A speaker on the drone connected to the drone’s operator can be used to coach a distressed swimmer to safety. The drone, of course, cannot provide CPR and relies on the struggling swimmer to be calm and able enough to rely on the floatation device for safety.
Last summer, drones were used to track and spot sharks potentially swimming in human areas. A lifeguard shortage also plagued the city's beaches, and a robotic device may be a substitute for an actual lifesaving human.
No details are yet available about who will be controlling the drones, how many there will be, and how the drones will exactly correspond with on-beach lifeguards.
Drones, a favorite device of the mayor who promoted a surveillance robot dog among other tech innovations to aid police, may set an unusual precedent for police activity at city beaches. Will the cameras also look for unlicensed beach vendors or illegal bottles of nutcrackers? Already, drones felt like an invasion of privacy to many New Yorkers when the NYPD deployed the devices to monitor backyard Labor Day Parties in 2023.
The New York City Parks Department is currently recruiting lifeguards for the upcoming beach season. Lifeguards must be 16 years old or older and pass a physical qualification test. NYC Parks also offers limited free swimming lessons and swimming improvement classes for all ages.