Brooklyn Boro

Hurricane Hermine spares Brooklyn waterfront neighborhoods

Summer's last hurrah at Coney Island, Red Hook

September 6, 2016 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle
On Labor Day, sunbathers gather on Coney Island though swimming is forbidden due to dangerous riptides. Eagle photos by Lore Croghan
Share this:

Farewell, fine summer.
Tens of thousands of sun worshippers flocked to Brooklyn beaches and waterfront locales this past Labor Day weekend despite deadly riptides caused by Hurricane Hermine.

On Coney Island, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, beachgoers were not allowed into the water. But they parked themselves on the sand nevertheless to bask in the sunshine on Sunday.

On Monday, the weather was overcast, but stalwarts showed up and planted their umbrellas on the sand anyway. That day, lifeguards and uniformed police officers were stricter about keeping people away from roped-off stretches of shoreline.

On both days, Coney Island’s famous boardwalk was crowded with fun seekers. They noshed at Nathan’s or Paul’s Daughter and bravely rode the Wonder Wheel despite stiff breezes kicked up by the offshore storm.

They gathered round to listen politely to boardwalk karaoke on Sunday — which included some heart-felt but truly tuneless singing.

For those who prefer to use the correct nomenclature, at that point in its trajectory, Hermine was a post-tropical cyclone.

Hermine stalled out in the open ocean to the east of New York City over the weekend after being blamed for at least three deaths on the coastline of the Southeastern United States.

The storm will continue to impact eastern Long Island and New England for a couple more days, weather forecasters predict.

As a safety measure because of the vicious riptides, the Parks Department closed all city beaches on Sunday and Monday.

Sighs of relief in Red Hook
On Sunday afternoon, the gates outside Manhattan Beach were locked and red “danger” flags were flying — which kept folks away altogether.

Water lovers had better luck in Bay Ridge, where a popular pedestrian and cycling path along New York Harbor, Shore Road Promenade, was open as usual.

The choppy harbor waters glittered in the sunshine on Sunday as skateboarders glided along the pathway and selfie-takers posed in front of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

And in waterfront Red Hook  — where homeowners and businesses suffered tremendous damage from Superstorm Sandy storm surges — all was well.

To celebrate the rain-free Labor Day, revelers knocked back margaritas and played mini-golf in the back yard at Brooklyn Crab on Reed Street.

From a scenic outlook behind Fairway Market on Van Brunt Street, strollers gazed upon the Statue of Liberty and watched the sunset.   

Subscribe to our newsletters


Leave a Comment


Leave a Comment