Following our recent story on unsupervised swims in the Bronx River over the summer and despite some drowning incidents in New York City this summer, swimmers, mostly teens and young children, but also some young adults, were once again observed having unsupervised swims in the river last month. Two sources say the practice has been going on for years, if not decades.

 

At 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, thirteen swimmers were observed jumping into, and cooling off in, the murky waters of the Bronx River. The swim site is located just north of the Burke Avenue Bridge between Webster Avenue and Bronx Park East between Norwood and Olinville. On the day in question, the National Weather Service reported temperatures of around 91 degrees, with a real-feel temperature of 95.

An SUV with Washington State plates was parked alongside the river with its doors and windows open, blasting Latin dance music, as 13 people were observed swimming in the nearby river.

 

Norwood News asked a man in his twenties about the swim. “This is my first time, but my friend has been coming for a few weeks already,” he said. Asked if someone in the crowd could carry out a rescue if anyone got into difficulty in the water, he replied, “It’s not deep.” When we mentioned that a person can potentially drown in a bathtub, the man agreed, saying, “That’s true.”

 

On being informed about two drownings in 2014 in the Bronx River in Starlight Park and of two other teens who drowned at East 180th Street in 2010, the young man recalled a recent occasion when he said two car drivers pull over on the shoulder of the Bronx River Parkway and passengers getting out for a swim.

 

A second swimmer, a young woman who looked to be in her twenties, was asked if police or Parks department officials ever patrol the area. “Nobody bothers us here,” she said. When the young woman, who was from Van Cortlandt Park, was told about the potential dangers of the unsupervised swim, she said of her friends in the river, “They know how to swim and there’s no waves.” She did not appear to consider the example being shown to younger people.

Asked if there was any debris in the water, the young woman said, “There’s logs but they have their sneakers on.” Pointing to one of several piles of garbage in the area, she added, “But there’s a lot of people who drink here and they throw everything here. They [Parks department officials] clean it, but a lot of people come over here.”

 

While at the location, Norwood News also observed a smaller group of people on the other side of the river who were cooking on a barbecue grill in the middle of Bronx River Forest, which is prohibited.

 

When a Parks department worker near the Allerton Ballfields was later asked about people swimming in the river and barbecuing in the forest, she responded, “Oh no!” She immediately called her supervisor who said he would alert another supervisor to check it out.

Parks department officials later told Norwood News that Parks enforcement officers patrol the Burke Avenue Bridge site routinely, adding that they had not received any alerts regarding unsupervised swimming. According to Parks, parks enforcement officers’ first course of action is to educate those involved, but they can also issue summonses.

 

Department officials also said that “No Swimming” signs are posted at various locations along the river. Norwood News did not see any during our three recent visits to the Bronx River around Burke Bridge.

 

On Monday, July 22, a Norwood News tipster who first reported that teens were swimming in the river three years ago said that ten vehicles were seen parked on the shoulder along the Bronx River Parkway the same day and that an estimated 100 teens were swimming in the river nearby.

Norwood News contacted the NYPD in July and August about the unsupervised swims in the Bronx River, and the FDNY regarding the illegal cookout on Aug. 1 in the forest. Neither department responded.

 

Following previous drowning incidents in Starlight Park, Parks department officials added self-closing latch swing gates to the area, NYPD-linked emergency call boxes, and posted, “No Swimming” signs in the park, and at other launch points along the Bronx River where the public can access the water.

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) reported 151 drownings in New York State in 2021, and of those drownings only four were reported at a public bathing facility with a lifeguard on duty. According to DOH records, there were 51 drownings in New York City between 1987 and 2022.

 

Meanwhile, in response to the ongoing lifeguard shortage impacting upon public swimming pool openings, and in efforts to boost recruitment for the role by offering a more defined career path, CBS recently reported on a proposal/study to move public lifeguard positions under the remit of the FDNY, much like EMTs, and away from NYC Parks.

When contacted by CBS about the proposal, the news outlet reported that a spokesperson for the City’s Independent Budget Office sent them a statement which read in part, “Transferring lifeguards from the Department of Parks and Recreation to the FDNY would face several challenges, particularly concerning existing collective bargaining agreements governing the Lifeguard and Supervising Lifeguard positions.

 

The statement continued, “Regarding whether such a move would provide lifeguards with an alternative career path, our preliminary findings suggest that there are former lifeguards now employed by the City in different titles and permanent (non-seasonal) positions. We cannot weigh in on how a change in the operating agency (Parks to FDNY) would alter any City career pathways for lifeguards.”

CBS also reported that the IBO hopes to release the findings of the study later this year and that neither NYC Parks nor FDNY officials responded to requests for comment on the proposal.

 

Read our previous story on this topic here.