Beaches in the Hamptons are starting to fill up earlier than usual and rental properties are now scarce with New Yorkers fleeing the city as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread.
The beachside communities in Long Island have seen a surge in visitors ever since New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a stay-at-home order to help stop the spread of the virus.
The unusual surge so early in the year has prompted local leaders in the Hamptons to urge Gov Cuomo to ban non-locals from the area during the outbreak.
Locals in the Hamptons, which is usually a summer hotspot for New Yorkers getting out of the city, have reported larger than normal crowds at beaches and busier beachside parking lots.
Beaches in the Hamptons have started to fill up and rental properties are scarce as New Yorkers flee the city during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 600 people have died from coronavirus in New York State
With the unusual surge in visitors, Hamptons locals have urged Gov Andrew Cuomo to ban non-locals from the area during the outbreak
Locals in the Hamptons, which is usually a summer hotspot for New Yorkers getting out of the city, have reported larger than normal crowds at beaches and busier beachside parking lots
Parking lots at beaches across the Hamptons were filled with cars as visitors observed social distancing while sitting on the sand at the beach
Some have claimed no one – whether at the beach or in the towns – is adhering to the social distancing that health officials have been pushing for.
Real estate agents are also seeing a rise in demand for rentals that aren’t normally sought after until closer to summer.
Nest Seekers International’s Dylan Eckardt told the Wall Street Journal that one wealthy New Yorker called him on his way out of the city to say he had a blank check and to find him a property to ride out the pandemic.
‘I got this call: ‘I’m on my way, driving out from the city. You’ve got to find me a house south of the highway with nine bedrooms, I want no one around me. I want a pool, a tennis court. I’ve got a blank check. Make it happen’,’ he said.
‘We’re renting stuff that never rents in March. There’s not even a price for it, because it doesn’t happen.’
Locals have reported larger than normal crowds at beaches and busier beachside parking lots
Some locals say they have noticed busier than normal parking lots at beaches as New Yorkers flock to various Long Island communities to escape the city during the pandemic
Locals say that there has a been a lack of social distancing among visitors to the Hamptons
Meanwhile, the local leaders of four communities are writing to Gov Cuomo to urge him to put a stop to the number of people fleeing to Long Island.
Southampton Town supervisor Jay Schneiderman told NBC News that local residents are worried there will be an outbreak due to the influx of people and that the area’s three hospitals won’t be able to cope.
He wants any New Yorker coming to the Hamptons to self-isolate for 14 days.
Despite reports of the Hamptons being busier than normal, Long Beach in Long Island was completely deserted on Friday due to the statewide restrictions.
The boardwalk has been shut down completely, prohibiting access to New Yorkers.
COVID-19 has attacked the state of New York with increasing force.
New York state continues to report the bulk of coronavirus infections that have so far been confirmed in the United States.
Southampton Town supervisor Jay Schneiderman told NBC News that local residents are worried there will be an outbreak due to the influx of people and that the area’s three hospitals won’t be able to cope
People sit along the shoreline at a beach in the Hamptons. While this beach was relatively busy, Long Beach in Long Island was completely deserted after the boardwalk was shut down
Families can be seen sitting among the people on the shoreline at a beach in the Hamptons
Although many people were seen sitting fairly far apart, many locals said they did not see visitors observing social distancing
Customers continued to buy takeout from food stores near the beaches in the Hamptons
People line up at a pizzeria in Sag Harbor. Locals want people fleeing New York banned from the area during the coronavirus outbreak
There are now more than 44,000 cases statewide and 519 deaths.
In New York City alone, there are more than 25,000 confirmed cases.
Gov Cuomo said the number of deaths will increase soon as critically ill patients who have been on ventilators for days succumb.
‘That is a situation where people just deteriorate over time,’ Cuomo said.
Roughly 3,000 people were hospitalized with the virus in New York state on Tuesday. That number rose to 3,800 Wednesday and then leaped to 5,300 by Thursday morning.
Health care workers treating the sick are worried they too will become infected with many feeling the emotional strain of caring for patients isolated from their families.
Meanwhile, officials have scrambled to try and bring enough breathing machines to New York to care for growing legions of patients.
Jesse Warren, who is the Southampton Village Mayor, said officials including the local police department were urging people to remember social distancing and said: ‘This is a grave situation, not a beach day’
Despite reports of the Hamptons being busier than normal, Long Beach in Long Island was completely deserted on Friday due to the statewide restrictions and the boardwalk being shut down
The boardwalk was deserted on Friday after it was shut down completely, prohibiting access to New Yorkers