Man Summonsed For Swim To Roosevelt Island

Photo by Harris Graber

Sometime this past Sunday a man reportedly took to the waters and swam from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island and back... successfully! Well, sort of. He was handed two summons for his East River swim. The Roosevelt Island blog refers to RI's public safety report from that day (which was quite rainy and windy), it states, "Investigation/ Reckless Endangerment—A male swam from the FDR straight across to Roosevelt Island. NYPD/ESU, and PSD responded. Male was fine. EMS refused. NYPD issued subject two summonses."

The swim isn't recommended—the current in the East River is strong (video), plus, who knows what's in there. And it seems like someone had plenty of reasons not to try it; a commenter on the RI blog with the handle "swimmer" posted more details from Sunday, saying, "It took 15 minutes with fins. It had to be planned carefully with due attention to the tides because crossing when the currents are running would indeed be difficult and dangerous. That said it should not be done for two reasons: it is difficult to time it so as to avoid boat traffic in the small window of high tide; and more importantly, someone will call 911 and set in motion a 'rescue' that will consume the time and resources of the NYC police and RI Public Safety, even on an overcast weekend day in the early morning."

Luckily, the swimmer wasn't injured during his adventure... but the time and resources of the NYPD were still utilized.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on August 24, 2010 4:52 PM

Comments [rss]

Peter

This should be treated the way back-country skiing is handled in Utah.

Peter

inklake

Cheeze969

It is NOT illegal to swim in waters surrounding NYC; however to be in Navigation channels without proper flag or signal to surrounding boats you can expect some sort of fine or warning from the authorities. Swimmers who want to continue to do this should have an escort(boat/kayak) or trail a Diver Down Flag on a float (commonly used for SCUBA) please see http://www.dive-flag.com/New-York.html for NY State Law on Dive Flags.

JenChungsBaby

The day al Qaeda drops the other shoe we'll all be swimming for our lives trying to escape Manhattan while the Navy shoots us dead in the water on the off chance we might be terrorists. This man may have shown us the way. He is The One.

eitan

the summons were for having the balls to go into the river in the first place. One for the left one, the other for the right one.

Ragingsemi

+1

wac0202

What were the summons for? Reckless endangerment of who? and the other one?

Såkandulæredet

The real question.... was it a hipster.... I would argue definitely no because the person actually made it across.

robingee

When he emerged from the water he had an old tire around his neck and a bicycle wheel stuck to his foot.

Cannibal

And a dead fetus hanging off his arm, and some syringes stuck in his butt

JenChungsBaby

and hepatitis

Ph

Check it:

http://www.nycswim.org/Event/Event.aspx?Event_ID=1808

The east river is an active channel. That's the end of the discussion. This isn't some lake up in the Catskills.

m015094

And the part where it's illegal??? I'm pretty sure that unless you're swimming in a reservoir zone (none here in NYC), then it's OK. This "reckless endangerment" thing is BS. This guy knows how to swim, unlike the other morons who get killed in the East River and on the LI Coast each year because they don't know how to swim, yet feel the need to get in the water.

Bike Rider

land of the free laugh out loud

mocanlagunas

Is there really a law against this?!?

SFNY

I don't think that technically it's illegal: 3,200 Triathletes swam 1.5 miles in the Hudson River last month, in June there was the Manhattan Marathon Annual Swim (just think about it, 9.5 hours in that water), and no one got a summons at either of those events. However, since cops can cite a person with "reckless endangerment" anywhere, that's probably enough of a dissuasion to effectively make it not-quite-legal for smaller groups or individuals.

Cannibal, are you organizing the fin-mob?

josegarcia

a friend and i used to swim down the hudson from fairway to the 78th street boat basin. it was aweome right up until the time he got busted (i'd taken that day off) the response included nypd cruisers, and boats and coast guard helicopters. he didn't get a ticket or a summons. they just chewed him out. one of the most obnoxious cops said, "you're looking at me like you think i'm crazy!" to which my friend thought (but did not say) "no, i'm looking at you like i think you're stoopid!" it's a crazy rule and makes no sense at all. meanwhile kayakers and jetskis are allowed? uh, what happens if they fall off, they will swim right? jeez!

Cannibal

15 minutes with fins???? Fuck that, lets all do this. They can't catch all of us!! FREEDOOOOMMMM!!!!

nicemarmot

Oh, so it IS illegal to do something stupid?

SlappyJ

Didn't realize it's illegal to swim in the rivers around the city.

TheTruthYouSeek

There's no fucking freedom in this city, I feel so trapped, I can't breathe, everyone is watching, so many laws, so much money, can never have a home, I wish I could go.