Swimming prohibited at Jones Beach, other state parks as Larry churns up rough surf

State park officials say there is already flooding at Jones Beach because of high tide this morning that caused the entire beachfront to be covered in water.

News 12 Staff

Sep 8, 2021, 9:33 PM

Updated 1,099 days ago

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The rough surf has forced officials to prohibit swimming at Jones Beach, Robert Moses and Hither Hills State Park.
"We have prohibited swimming throughout the Atlantic Ocean, New York state park beaches, so Jones Beach, Robert Moses and Hither Hills and that may be in effect several days as we continue to see the effects of the storm," says Chip Gorman, regional director of Long Island's state parks.
State park officials say there is already flooding at the beach because of high tide this morning that caused the entire beachfront to be covered in water. They say the flooding issue is also still from Ida.
"We're expecting the tides to get worse over the next day or two, so we do expect more flooding," says Gorman.
State park officials say crews are hard at work Wednesday at Jones Beach to protect the beach from flooding ahead of Hurricane Larry.
Gorman says although Larry is miles offshore, the beach is still seeing major effects. He says crews are shoring up a wall of sand from the East Bath House through the Central Mall to the West Bath House.
"For the last couple storms, we've built it up, but those storms have affected it, broke through at one point, so we're building it up to protect the infrastructure here as best as we can," says Gorman.
Sandbags that were put up to protect the buildings on the beach from Ida will stay in place.
Gorman says lifeguard equipment has also been moved to higher ground.