Want to Become a New York City Lifeguard? It’s Easier This Year.
Still feeling the cramps from staff shortages last summer, the Parks Department is making changes to encourage more people to become lifeguards. Here’s how to take the test.
With 14 miles of public beaches and more than 100 indoor and outdoor pools to oversee, New York City lifeguards have no shortage of work. But last year the city Department of Parks and Recreation faced a dire dearth of able bodies as the season of sun and surf rolled around.
Specialty programs, like popular early-morning lap swimming and swim lessons, had to be shut down. Pools and beaches faced rolling closures without enough staff to watch the water.
This year, the parks department is trying to buoy recruitment by starting early, tweaking the qualifying test and even offering remedial swim classes to would-be lifeguards who just miss the mark.