Despite the Department of Parks and Recreation's minimal attempts at changing some elements of its lifeguard training and testing policies, local Community Board members believe that the changes made by the agency are too little and too late, and that the issue has become a matter of public safety.
"We don't know if the lifeguards [who work] on our beaches every summer are truly qualified or not," Community Board 14 member, Dan Mundy told The Wave this week.
Mundy says that not enough is being done to fix the ongoing concerns regarding the training and testing of lifeguards, which, board members say, include harassment, bias, and the absence of a time trial clock so that candidates can track how well they did on the test.
The question of public safety is being raised because, under the current labor contract, returning lifeguards are not required to be re-tested at the start of each season, setting the possibility that a lifeguard who has an offseason injury could be hired the following summer despite a debilitating handicap.
The Department of Parks and Recreation says that about 700-800 of its 1,200-person lifeguard force are returnees from the previous season.
Mundy says there can be far too many lifeguards on the beach who have gone untested prior to each season.
"That many untested lifeguards are not fair or safe to the residents of Rockaway," Mundy said.
"We don't know if they are physically fit enough to perform at the same level as the previous year," Mundy said. "The Parks Department is not willing to control who becomes a competent lifeguard."
As a result, Mundy and the CB14 Parks committee are calling on residents to flood 311 with complaints about their beach safety concerns.
"This is the only way we will get some action from the mayor and institute change."
Rockaway Councilman Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. says that the Parks Department is willing to adjust some of its policies as a result of the pressure brought by Community Board 14.
Addabbo met on February 13, with the Park Commissioner Adrian Benepe, First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh and Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell, who has become an avid supporter in the lifeguard debate, to discuss the problems and concerns connected with the lifeguard program.
They discussed among other issues, the testing of lifeguards using a visible time clock, and the closed-door policy that exists during the final testing.
"There was never a clock in the past," Addabbo said. "However, under the labor contract, they can only use it on new candidates and are not required to use it on returning lifeguards."
This is not acceptable to the Community Board members. They want testing and timing for every single lifeguard, every year.
Community Board 14 representatives are calling for a near-complete overhaul of the New York City Lifeguard recruiting and testing policies, but that isn't likely to happen anytime soon.
In addition to the changes in the timing and testing of lifeguard candidates, CB 14 members also want the city to consider changing the testing site from the 59 Street swimming pool in Manhattan to what Mundy calls "a newly constructed and nationally recognized competitive pool in Flushing."
"That pool is not accommodating people outside of Manhattan," Mundy said. "It is only 20 yards long and we are going to encourage the city to hold all future trainings at this new pool."
Addabbo said, however, that the Department of Parks is heading in a different direction, one that he thought Community Board 14 would favor.
He said that after this season, the 59 Street pool site will be renovated to include a spectator area that would eliminate the current closed doors policy during testing.
But Mundy says that wasn't the only issue.
"We don't need a spectator area," Mundy said. "It is a waste of money.
"All we need is just one independent monitor to oversee that the testing is done fairly and to verify all results," Mundy continued.
Mundy says it is necessary to ensure that the public is getting properly tested and trained lifeguards every summer.
