A harmless Thresher Shark was sighted at Rockaway Beach and sent many bathers into a "JAWS" frenzy...
Shark Disrupts Rockaway Beach - New York Times:
Beachgoers were driven out of the water for several hours yesterday when a shark washed up on Rockaway Beach.
The six-foot shark turned up about 11 a.m. near Beach 109th Street, said Warner Johnson, a Parks Department spokesman. Those nearby seemed unfazed; some of them pushed the shark back into the surf. Over the next few hours, the department closed parts of the beach between Beach 107th and Beach 121st Streets, Mr. Johnson said. Rumors spread that there were two sharks, but he said there was only one.
The beaches will be open today, he said.Watch video - NY1 News - Shark Washes Ashore On A Rockaways Beach
Rockaway Beach Open After Shark Visit - News Story - WNBC | New York
Rockaway Beach between 107th and 121st streets was shut down Saturday after a shark washed ashore, but the creature did not reappear and the beach was open again Sunday.Swimmers were told to get out of the water about 11 a.m., after a shark was spotted in the ocean near 108th Street. The shark, about six feet long, appeared to be beaching itself, witnesses said.A person on the beach pushed the shark back into the water with her foot. People reported seeing the shark swimming near the shore for about an hour afterward.But New York park officials decided to keep people out of the water in case the shark is ill or disoriented and decides to return.Parks officials said they don't know what type of shark it was.Shark sightings are rare in New York. Last year, a dead shark washed ashore in Coney Island, park officials said.
Newsday Shark forces closure of Rockaway Beach -- Newsday.com:
"A 6-foot shark washed up on Rockaway Beach Saturday morning and was pushed back into the water by beachgoers, a city park official said. The shark was spotted at Beach 109th Street about 11 a.m. and immediately forced the closure of the beach from Beach 107th Street to Beach 121st Street, said Warner Johnston, spokesman for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. 'Shark sightings are very infrequent,' he said. 'They are not native to the waters of New York City.' The shark, he said, likely got caught up in the net of a fishing boat and brought closer to the city, Johnston said. It is not known what kind of shark it was nor the condition it was in. After swimming around close to shore for a few hours, the shark disappeared about 3:30 p.m., Johnston said. If the shark is not seen again, the beach will reopen Sunday at 10 a.m., he said. 'We advise beachgoers that if they see a shark, to immediately exit the water and inform the park's personnel,' Johnston said. Last year, a dead shark washed up at Coney Island Beach with a hook in its mouth."
Daily News - Shark washes up at Rockaway Beach in Queens:
A wayward shark splashed in the surf off the Rockaways today - and rather than flee, unflinching New Yorkers pushed the creature back into the ocean.
Swimmers were beached for the rest of the afternoon as onlookers reported several more sightings of the shark, believed to be a thresher because of its long tail.
"It was like freaking out. Its tail was flopping everywhere," said 10-year-old McKenzie Pontieri. "Maybe it got separated from its family. It looked sick."
The "Jaws"-dropping drama began at 10:56 a.m. near Beach 109th St. when swimmers alerted lifeguards that the creature was wiggling near the shore.
"I saw the fin, and I was like, 'Oh my God!'" said Keith DiLorenzo, 12, who was boogieboarding.
Several brave beachgoers mustered up the nerve to push the six-foot-long shark back in the water - a decision that could save the creature's life, said Hans Walters of the New York Aquarium.
"They gave him a shot," Walters said. "I'm not saying he's not going to wash up again - he might. But that's really the best thing to do for him."
The shark may have been drawn to the beach because it was disoriented or sick, Walters said, like a shark that washed up in Madrid last week after swallowing a fishing hook.
For the rest of the day, swimmers were ordered out of the water between Beach 107th and Beach 121st Sts. by the Parks Department. Officials hadn't decided whether to lift the ban for the remainder of Labor Day weekend - the unofficial last weekend of summer, as city beaches and pools close Tuesday.
Some swimmers were a little too eager to jump back in.
"It was like 'Jaws.' I was a little scared, but I dove in anyway and I got yelled at," said 13-year-old Thomas Hourigan of Woodside.
The shark was last spotted about 1 p.m. swimming near Beach 113th St. A few sunbathers were grateful it didn't rear its fin earlier in the season.
"If this had happened on Memorial Day," said Dot DiLorenzo, 47, "it would have ruined the summer."
