Nassau to limit Nickerson Beach to county residents this weekend

Legislators are going to introduce emergency legislation today to restrict the use of Nassau beaches and Town of Hempstead beaches to Nassau residents only.

News 12 Staff

May 19, 2020, 9:36 AM

Updated 1,662 days ago

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While Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York City beaches will stay closed this holiday weekend, more Long Island lawmakers are telling city residents not to look east.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced Tuesday afternoon that the county-owned Nickerson Beach will be limited to only county residents. Earlier in the day, some Republican legislators called for the restrictions, worrying of a flood of city residents.
Nassau's restriction mirrors a similar new rule in the Town of Hempstead that restricts its beach access to county residents. Earlier this week, Suffolk enacted a residents-only rule at its two beaches.
Since Jones Beach and Robert Moses are state beaches, they will be open to anyone, but will have capacity capped at 50%. Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder admits there could be some traffic issues with beach crowds, and says helicopters will be in the air and units on the ground to help.
Some people who News 12 spoke to don't believe crowds will be that big because weather is not expected to be ideal. News 12's forecast calls for a chance of rain Friday and Saturday and breezy conditions Sunday and Monday with highs in the upper-60s.
The Town of Oyster Bay also says its beaches will be residents-only, while Long Beach hasn't announced its plans yet.