TESTIMONY
Sharon Levy on Enhancing Swimming Access, Instruction, and Safety in New York City
1:28:52
·
6 min
Sharon Levy, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at the YMCA of Greater New York, testifies on expanding swim access and instruction.
- Levy highlights the YMCA's commitment to empowering youth, improving health, and strengthening community through aquatic programs.
- She discusses addressing the city's lifeguard shortage, including creating a lifeguard and aquatics interorganizational task force.
- The testimony advocates for increased funding for swim instruction and pool operations, and expanding aquatic infrastructure.
- Levy proposes regulatory changes to recognize various lifeguard certifications and a high school lifeguard development program.
- Emphasizes swimming as a matter of equity, public health, and safety, urging concrete steps for universal swimming access in NYC.
Sharon Levy
1:28:52
Hello.
1:28:54
Good afternoon.
1:28:55
My challenge is the 3 minute clock, and I'm gonna take it.
1:28:59
Good afternoon.
1:29:00
My name is Sharon Levy.
1:29:01
I'm Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at the YMCA of Greater New York.
1:29:04
I will be testifying on behalf of the YMCA.
1:29:07
Thank you, chair Krishnan, council member Brewer, council member Holden, and all the other council members that were here earlier today for holding this hearing and listening to our cause.
1:29:18
The YMCA grid in New York is committed to empowering youth, improving health, and strengthening community with 24 branches, and over 100 community sites across New York City.
1:29:29
One of the ways we reach our communities is through our aquatics programs, which place children and adults on a path to develop life saving skills in the water.
1:29:38
Utilizing 22 wide aquatic centers in all five boroughs, the wide provider, the wide provides pool access to tens of 1000 of New Yorkers each year.
1:29:48
We do this through programs like 2nd grade swim, swim instructions, some or day camp, adult lap swim, and a variety of other programs.
1:29:55
Furthermore, through our newly newly created aquatic center for excellence, we have been providing free lifeguard training and certification programs since 2022, and over 300 participants have been certified by the wise lifeguard training and certification program.
1:30:11
In 2023, the why along with other organizations testifying here today can be the lifeguard and aquatics interorganizational task force comprised of nonprofit providers and city agencies focus first on tackling the city's acute lifeguard shortage and then on the broader issue of water safety in our city.
1:30:32
Over the last year through the work of the task force, we have created new collaborations that have supported recruitment efforts, shared resources, and developed joint advocacy efforts to elevate these critical issues with our city and state elected officials.
1:30:45
But more remains, more work remains, more work remains.
1:30:49
Before I go on, I do wanna acknowledge and commend the New York City Department of Parks And Recreation and their leadership on these efforts.
1:30:56
They have been great partners on the task force.
1:30:59
They have succeeded in increasing the salaries of Lifeguard staff, and they have created an engaging impactful and an impactful marketing campaign that has significantly elevated the visibility of lifeguard recruitment.
1:31:12
We also want to acknowledge the work of the New York City Department of Education for their efforts in increasing access to New York City pools and reopening shuttered school pools.
1:31:22
As New Yorkers, we pride ourselves on being a diverse and dynamic community.
1:31:27
Yet when it comes to knowing how to swim or access a showing pools, we, as a city, fall short.
1:31:34
We are a waterfront city, as has been mentioned before, with five hundred and twenty miles waterfront, and yet too many New Yorkers never learn how to swim.
1:31:42
With over 8,000,000 residents and warming and a warming global climate, our our public pools are woefully insufficient to meet the need for quality swim instruction and recreation.
1:31:53
According to the CDC, drowning is a leading cause of unintentional injury, death worldwide, with children and people of color disproportionately affected.
1:32:02
Black children are five times more likely to drown than their white counterparts.
1:32:07
In a city where the vast majority of our communities are black and brown.
1:32:10
These disparities are unacceptable.
1:32:13
It's time we recognize diming.
1:32:15
It's time we recognize importance of Yeah.
Shekar Krishnan
1:32:17
Go ahead.
Sharon Levy
1:32:17
I'm not even close.
Shekar Krishnan
1:32:18
The loose 3 minutes
Sharon Levy
1:32:19
from here.
1:32:20
Thank you.
1:32:22
It's time we recognize the importance of swimming for all and take concrete steps to ensure every resident has the opportunity to learn, enjoy, and stay safe in the water.
1:32:30
The key to addressing these issues is is in improving access to swim and swim instruction for all New Yorkers.
1:32:36
We can accomplish this by creating additional access to existing pools, public, private, and those run by non private organizations.
1:32:44
We can immediately, significantly increase funding for swim instruction and pool operations in the city's budget.
1:32:51
Expansion of free swim lessons and pools across our city, including but not limited to parks, DOE, and nonprofit pools will significant impact the rate of injury the rate of injury and fatality from swim related incidents in our city.
1:33:05
Even before recent budget cuts are only a tiny fraction of the city's budget went toward swim instruction, which is a troubling reflection of its overall prioritization in our city.
1:33:16
Over the long term, we must prioritize the expansion of aquatic infrastructure.
1:33:21
This means building more pools, particularly in neighborhoods who do not have access to aquatic spaces.
1:33:26
It also means finding ways to include pools as critical public investments along with parks and green space in our capital planning process.
1:33:36
As many know, our city's lifeguard shortage has been an issue for years and was significantly exacerbated by the pandemic.
1:33:44
We believe that through partnership and regulatory changes, we could in increase the number of lifeguards in New York City exponentially.
1:33:51
For example, the city, namely the Parks department, should have the ability to accept nationally recognized lifeguard certifications like the Red Cross and the YMCA certifications.
1:34:01
This would allow us to train a more robust workforce, as well as employ more lifeguards and fill in the staffing gaps across our city.
1:34:10
In a we urge the city to work with nonprofit providers to establish a lifeguard development program, as well as a training and certification program gram within our high schools, very similar to one of the 5 point plan points related to the junior lifeguard lifeguard core.
1:34:27
By engaging youth from diverse communities to strengthen their swim skills and train to become lifeguards, we cannot only create a sustainable pipeline of qualified lifeguards, but also also foster a sense of responsibility and leadership among the next generation, investing in training and mentorship opportunities.
1:34:45
For young for young New Yorkers, free New Yorkers.
1:34:48
Universal swimming access is not just a matter of convenience or leisure.
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It's a matter of equity, public health, and safety.
1:34:56
By implementing these solutions, we can make significant strides towards creating a city where every resident regardless of background or circumstance is able to swim safely.
1:35:06
We appreciate your support, leadership, and partnership in addressing the city's water safety challenges.
1:35:11
Thank you so much for fighting for children, families, and adult and adults across New York City.
← Previous Chapter
Kaitlin Krause, Commissioner at the New York State Commission to Prevent Childhood Drowning, on a Comprehensive Citywide Approach to Water Safety
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Sherrise Palomino, Director of Advocacy and Programs at New Yorkers for Parks, on Water Safety Challenges and Legislative Initiatives