(task) Rockaway Beach rated top in NYC, beating out Manhattan Beach - NY Daily News

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> http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rockaway-beach-rated-top-nyc-beating-manhattan-beach-article-1.2244464 <http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rockaway-beach-rated-top-nyc-beating-manhattan-beach-article-1.2244464>
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> EXCLUSIVE: Rockaway Beach rated top NYC beach, beating out Manhattan Beach; Wolfe’s Pond on Staten Island rated worst
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> Alexander Cohn/for New York Daily News
> Jeremy Gomez, left, and Czayna Perrone, both of Harlem, splash in the surf at Rockaway Beach, named the best beach in New York City according to a new report.
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> Life really is a beach in Rockaway, where a “nearly impeccable” shoreline vaulted it to the top of the city’s seaside spots in a new report obtained by the News.
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> New Yorkers for Parks gave the Queens peninsula an A-minus rating in its survey, but fabled Coney Island received just a C-plus.
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> The non-profit’s “Report Card on Beaches,” which will be released Wednesday, examined eight city-run beaches last summer.
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> Researchers found the Coney Island/Brighton Beach shoreline littered with broken glass, though free of trash. About a third of drinking fountains were beset by low water pressure and had algae, weeds or other “unsanitary substance.”
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> Tupper Thomas, who led the review, said the ratings keep the public informed. “We want the city to put more money into parks and into the right places,” he said.
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> Todd Maisel/New York Daily News </photos/dn-photographers/photographer?author=Todd-Maisel>
> The cleanliness of the bathrooms at Coney Island and Brighton Beach may have contributed to the fabled tourist spot getting ranked fifth in the latest rankings.
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> The report, usually issued every two years, was delayed a year to give the city time to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
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> Manhattan Beach earned the second spot with a B-plus, followed by Cedar Grove with a B and South Beach with a B-minus. Midland Beach and Coney Island/Brighton Beach tied for fifth place at C-plus.
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> Orchard Beach, rated D, was found to be “challenged.”And Wolfe’s Pond Beach in Staten Island — at rock bottom with an F — was strewn with “excessive litter or large natural debris,” and in need of sand replenishment.
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> “Because our beaches are New York City’s first line of defense against climate change, NYC Parks has made the creation of a strong, resilient waterfront a priority," said department spokesman Sam Biederman.
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> Photo by Jeff Bachner for New York Daily News
> How city-run beaches stack up.
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> Biederman said repair crews regularly monitor bathrooms and water fountains in Coney Island and other beaches for needed repairs.
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> Rockaway concession owners gloated over the beach’s no. 1 ranking, while visitors and vendors in Coney Island were not discouraged by its middling grade.
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> Matteo Castelli, the 41-year-old manager at Tom’s Coney Island, said he hoped researchers returned for a second look. And the rain didn’t dampen 82-year-old Marion Kueber’s enthusiasm for Coney Island.
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> “This is the only beach that I know, so it's gotta be no. 1 for me,” she said.