VITAL CITY—June 21, 2024—The summer of 2024 will be hotter than ever, with forecasts predicting double last year’s total of 90-plus degree days. And while some of us can afford to just crank up the air, for millions of New Yorkers, the city’s beaches (which already opened) and its pools (set to open on June 27) are often the only way to get relief from the heat.

If only they were genuinely accessible to all. In the past couple of years, severe shortages in lifeguard staffing resulting from rigid union rules, coupled with an arcane city capital construction process, have far too often made cool water an empty promise. We’ve seen some pools shuttered for years on end, hours curtailed, beaches forced to close and swim classes canceled, even as the mercury has risen and risen.

Note: Julie Sandorf is the president of the Charles H. Revson Foundation. The Revson Foundation is a funder of the Aquatics Task Force and the YMCA lifeguard training program. Kiryat Hance, office and program assistant, provided research assistance. The Revson Foundation is also a funder of Vital City.

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