This weekend, two teens drowned in an informal swimming spot on the Bronx River, sparking recent media coverage of “illegal swimming”. This tragedy has touched the hearts of many among the S.W.I.M. membership, especially those of us working on the Bronx River and with young people. Our condolences go out to the families involved.
READ NY1 Coverage: Bronx teen David Luccioni died while trying to save Crystal Reyes, 15, from drowning in Bronx River
A WNYC report noted that although summer just began just a couple of weeks ago, already three young New Yorkers between the ages of 12 and 20 have drowned to death in area beaches and in the Harlem River. Their reporting has explored how preventable drowning deaths can disproportionately impact communities of color in New York City.
READ WNYC Coverage: Survey Finds Blacks and Latinos Less Likely to Swim
It seems, however, that local swimming holes prove irresistible on hot summer days. Even in the days since the drownings, locals continue to access the swimming hole as a cooling spot on these dog days of summer with temperatures topping 90F consistently for weeks.
READ Daily News Coverage: Bronx River swimming spot hard to resist, even after double drowning
As we continue to do our work to make sure that the water quality of local waterways is safe for contact, this incident brings broader issues of public safety front and center. We encourage everyone to learn to swim in a pool before taking to the open water anywhere, and to swim in locations where there is a lifeguard present. We have collected a few resources for safe swimming below.
Learn to Swim, a free instructional program that runs at New York City’s public outdoor pools is offered for young people through NYC Parks & Recreation, City Parks Foundation and the American Red Cross.
Speaking of the American Red Cross, they train lifeguards and help with job placement.
New York Harbor School is a local HS that provides a college-preparatory education built upon New York City’s maritime experience…students learn a wide array of on-water skills including swimming and sailing.
Swim Free is a new org, supported by open water swimming group NYC SWIM, that will be offering learn-to-swim programs, lifeguard training this Fall.
Rocking the Boat provides youth programming of boat building, on-water skills, ecology and terrain of the Bronx River and surrounding estuary.
Please add (in the comments section) any additional resources that we have not mentioned here that might help young people handle themselves safely on the water, and we will update the body of the post. Have a safe summer everyone.