Good morning. It’s Monday. New Yorkers are finally getting a break after the swampy, stifling heat of the weekend. Today, after a tragic death in the Hamptons, we’ll explain what you need to know to stay safe at the beach — and why the marine forecast can be an important tool.
Beaches were packed over the Fourth of July weekend as New Yorkers sought relief from the triple-digit temperatures. But in Southhampton, on Long Island, one family’s trip to the water ended in tragedy.
Kiara Paolasin, 6, and her family, who live in Brooklyn, were visiting a beach near Great Peconic Bay in Southampton on Saturday morning when Kiara was swept away by a current, the Southampton Town Police Department said in a statement.
Kiara was attempting to retrieve footwear that had floated away when she slipped and was pulled into the current that flowed through Sebonac Creek, a tidal inlet. A 16-year-old family member tried to help her, but the current was too strong. A kayaker nearby in Great Peconic Bay managed to pull her out of the water, but she was unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at Southampton Hospital, the statement said.
At least 34 people in the United States have drowned in the surf so far this year, most of them caught in rip currents, according to the National Weather Service, which tracks surf-zone deaths across the country.
We asked Bruckner Chase, an ocean safety expert and the founder and chief executive of the nonprofit Ocean Positive, for his best safety tips before heading to the beach.
He advises that you should look at the weather forecast that is as close as possible to the beach that you plan on visiting rather than checking a more generic forecast, for example the city where the beach is. That could be tracking the temperature at an airport that’s 40 miles inland.
You can pinpoint beach conditions by looking at the marine forecast. It typically includes information about weather, wind and waves. Have they put out any warnings like a “small craft advisory” that would indicate hazardous conditions for small vessels? This is a clear sign that you should avoid going into the water, Chase said.
He also suggests looking at your local surf report, which will tell you tide times, thunderstorm potential, rip current risks and more.
Rip currents are narrow channels of water that can pull people deeper into the ocean. They are found along the coasts of the United States, as well as the shores of the Great Lakes. And they can be subtle — most of them move one to two feet per second.
That makes it tough to immediately recognize a rip current.
In general, if you see whitecaps, “little bitty short choppy waves,” or if you see large breaking surf, “those are all indications that the water is going to be really difficult to navigate,” Chase said. In addition, if the wind is so powerful that it’s flipping over your towel, that’s another sign that the water might not be safe.
People often underestimate how difficult it can be to swim in the ocean or even a creek. Chase said that Kiara was most likely swept away by a tidal current, which is controlled by the rise and fall of the tides and present in bodies of water like bays that feed into the ocean.
If you find yourself caught in a fast-moving current, try your best to relax and float to give rescuers time to reach you. A strong swimmer can attempt to swim perpendicular to the current, never into it.
And if you see someone in the ocean who needs help, take 10 seconds to pause, alert someone — a lifeguard if possible — and call 911 for help. If a lifeguard is not present, and there is no other option but to enter the water, always take a flotation device to help you assist someone while you stay safe.
Weather
Expect showers, a possible thunderstorm and steady temperature near 73. Tonight rain is expected to continue with a low near 68.
ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING
In effect until July 23 (Tisha B’Av).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This is how I can keep that moment alive. We’re documenting history, for real.” — Devine Kaysuane, an artist and longtime Knicks fan, on painting a mural on 30th Street in Manhattan depicting Mitchell Robinson dunking over an opponent during the Knicks’ championship run.
The latest New York news
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Finding herself after an attack: Nafiah Ikram was steps from her home in Elmont, N.Y., when a stranger ran up and threw acid in her face. Five years later, she is trying to rebuild her life and cope with a stunning twist in her case.
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Seaplane crashes into the East River: A seaplane flying from the Hamptons with eight people aboard crashed into the East River near the Manhattan waterfront. No serious injuries were reported.
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Coney Island mass shooting: Eight people, including two children, aged 6 and 7, were shot in Coney Island during a Fourth of July fireworks display. And a police officer was injured when a bullet struck the back of his bulletproof vest.
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The Brooklyn Bridge on fire: Several fires erupted on the Brooklyn Bridge during the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Show. A spokesman for the Fire Department said that the fires were ignited by the fireworks. No injuries were reported.
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A lack of notable faces in the Hamptons: With nearly 1,000 guests attending Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Manhattan wedding celebration, the Hamptons seemed noticeably less crowded with celebrities over the holiday weekend than in previous years.
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He wrote a book about New York: Mike Wallace, a self-proclaimed radical historian who wrote the 1998 book “Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898,” which focused on social and economic conflict, has died. He was 83.
METROPOLITAN diary
On Delancey
Dear Diary:
I was walking home from dinner on Delancey Street on one of those magical December nights on the Lower East Side where the city is all amber light and steam rising off the corners, very “Inside Llewyn Davis.”
As I passed the Bowery Ballroom, I noticed that Jon Batiste was performing. Jon and I go back to my Juilliard days, when I’d pretend I was also a jazz musician and sit in on some of the most intense jam sessions.
Completely on impulse, I bought a ticket.
The concert was electric. Jon has a way of making people feel part of the same fabric, and the room swayed like it shared a single heartbeat.
At the end of the show, instead of saying, “good night,” Jon grabbed his melodica, jumped offstage, walked through the crowd and out the front doors.
Instinctively, everyone followed. Looks were exchanged, but feet kept moving behind the second-line band pouring onto Delancey Street. Suddenly, hundreds of strangers were dancing impromptu through the Lower East Side together.
Police officers smiled and waved us through intersections. Drivers rolled down their windows and surrendered to the moment. One delivery biker trapped at a crosswalk threw his hands in the air and started dancing too.
People leaned out apartment windows, waving towels, napkins, anything white enough to catch the light. Others came down onto their stoops and folded themselves into the parade.
I had seen Jon lead these “love riots” before. But that was during Covid, when New York felt strangely fragmented. This night felt different. Necessary, even.
For a few blocks, the city paused. Just music echoing off brick buildings and strangers moving together in the winter air.
And then, as quickly as it had formed, the crowd dissolved back into the city’s tapestry.
I’ve never forgotten the feeling.
— Corey Hawkins
Mr. Hawkins is an actor who appears in the movie “The Odyssey,” which will be released this month.
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Tell us your New York story here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
Glad we could get together here. C.C.
Davaughnia Wilson and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].
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The post The Ocean Can Be Treacherous. Here’s How to Stay Safe. appeared first on New York Times.
