Summer has arrived in New York City — unofficially, at least — and Brooklyn’s beaches will open for swimming on Saturday, May 24.
Lifeguards will take their stands at Coney Island beach, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach at 10 a.m. that day, and the beaches will be open for swimming 10 a.m.-6 p.m. every day until Sept. 7.
For Brooklynites who want to start the summer with a bang but aren’t sure where to go, Brooklyn Paper created the Beach Vibe Guide, which breaks down the pros and cons of each Kings County beach.
The weather is set to be fair, if a little cool for a beach day. Saturday and Sunday are both expected to be partly cloudy, with a high of 68 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday and 72 degrees on Sunday.
While lifeguards will be on duty, the seas are likely a little too cold for casual swimmers, with ocean temps hovering around 61 degrees Fahrenheit. Regulars of the Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge, though, will have no issue braving the chilly waves.
It’s not clear, though, if all of Brooklyn’s beaches will be fully open for swimming on Saturday. The city has been dealing with a lifeguard shortage for years, and last summer was forced to close sections of some beaches it was unable to staff.
“As with every year, visitors may see sections of beach closed off for swimming/capacity restrictions based on daily lifeguard staffing,” a Parks Department spokesperson said. “Our goal is always to accommodate as much swimming space as possible.”
Last year, the city reached an agreement with the lifeguards’ union to ease some of the strict requirements for new lifeguards and agreed to increase pay to $22 per hour in an effort to relieve the shortage.
The Parks Department representative told Brooklyn Paper’s sister site, amNewYork, that the number of new lifeguard recruits was up almost 50% last year, and that the city employed a total of 930 lifeguards at its “summer peak” in 2024.
Turnout for lifeguard qualifying exams was “strong” this year, the spox said, and the department expects to have as many lifeguards as last year, if not more. The final number of lifeguards is not yet available, they said, as lifeguards will continue to be certified and added to the lifeguard corps through July, and training classes are still underway.
At a press conference on May 20, Mayor Eric Adams said the city’s goal is “not to” close the city’s beaches and pools, but said he didn’t have the exact number of lifeguards employed by the parks department this year. City Hall will release the numbers “on Friday,” he said.
“I don’t believe there’s any real issues that we are facing,” he said.
Finding fun off the sand
If the weather doesn’t hold out, or if swimming isn’t an option, there’s plenty more summer fun to be had in southern Brooklyn. Luna Park and Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park are open all weekend, and will both be open seven days a week starting May 23.
Coney Island USA’s Marx Brothers Weekend starts on Friday, and continues all weekend with film screenings and other events, and while the Brooklyn Cyclones are off on Memorial Day weekend, they’re back at Maimonides Park to face the Aberdeen IronBirds on May 27.
Brooklynites will have to wait a little longer to visit the city’s outdoor pools — they won’t open until June 27, according to the Parks Department.
Update 5/20/25, 4:04 p.m.: This story has been updated with additional information from the Parks Department.
