New Yorkers skip work to head to beaches, parks as sun squashes weeks of soggy weather: ‘It's about time'
New Yorkers played hooky and ditched their responsibilities Thursday to beat the heat as temperatures kissed 88° — a welcome roast following weeks of wet weather.
The city's beaches were lined with umbrellas and parks were packed with sunbathers who were relishing in the first truly hot day of the year so far.
'It's about time. It's perfect weather for the beach,' Mariah S., 58, of Ridgewood told The Post from her and her husband's hideaway next to the Coney Island boardwalk.
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6 Temperatures hung in the high 80s on Thursday.
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Joseph, 63, added: 'It's been rainy, muggy. You don't know what to wear. It was drizzling and never stopped.'
The couple had taken the day off work, finding 'people watching' at the iconic Brooklyn beach much more alluring than their respective jobs in banking and at a private school, which unlike public schools, didn't have the day off for Islam holiday Eid al-Adha.
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'The people are very interesting on the boardwalk. Some people just come out and dance around. Some people wear weird outfits,' said Mariah.
Toronto tourist Kaiya Nixon, 21, was itching to get her bikini on and dive headfirst into the waters — which were estimated at a chilly 60 degrees.
6 Alice Moore initially tried to stay dry at the Washington Square Fountain, but couldn't resist a dip.
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6 Dozens of others followed suit after Alice dunked beneath the surface.
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The political science student was surprised that other sunbathers, like Mariah and Joseph, had skipped a day of work to enjoy the weather.
'You're allowed to take the day off from work cause it's sunny? I never heard of that before,' Nixon said.
'[Canadians] wouldn't take the day off to enjoy the weather but they'd complain all day while on shift about the fact that they're missing the gorgeous weather,' she continued.
'One thing about people in Toronto is they never stop talking about weather. It's part of their personalities. They are worse than the Brits.'
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David, of Bushwick, however, couldn't afford to take the day off, but instead made the beach his office.
The 29-year-old, who works in project management, simply kept his laptop's camera and audio off during his work meetings — one of which was ongoing as he talked with The Post.
'It feels f–king awesome. I'm happy to be out here while I work,' David explained.
'I don't have to be on camera so I figured why not work at the beach if you have the opportunity.'
'You gotta enjoy the weather while you can.'
His friend Leela, 27, did call out of her data management job to enjoy the weather, choosing instead to sip on $10 pina colada nutcrackers with David.
'It's a nice day and we wanted to come to the beach. It would have been too risky to work and come to the beach,' she said.
6 Monty 'The Legend' spends about 200 days per year at Washington Square Park.
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In Washington Square Park, Monty 'The Legend' emphasized he had been waiting for weeks for the weather to finally turn balmy.
'It's a beautiful, beautiful spot to sit here and just hang out, it's a good spot,' he said.
The 90-year-old iconic fixture of the Lower Manhattan park estimates he spends around 200 days per year sunbathing on the grounds, saying he's there 'every day unless it's raining' — even in the winter.
The one constant is the sun reflector that Monty relies on to get his intense tan.
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6 Rocco celebrated his first dip in the fountain on Thursday.
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'Some people can't take it,' Monty said about braving the cold in the name of enjoying the park.
Dozens of other parkgoers dipped their feet in the Washington Square Fountain until little Alice Moore dove headfirst into the water — igniting a trend inspiring others to follow suit.
The 7-year-old, along with her mom and sister, had ditched their shopping plans, splitting from the rest of their family in favor of the cool relief.
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'I also had a double cone!' Alice said.
6 The metro area had been plagued by rain for weeks.
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The family of six from Salt Lake City had to change their plans for the afternoon after Alice soaked her clothes — they were planning to go straight to the Museum of Natural History before the young girl stood directly beneath the fountain spouts.
'We're more interested in parks,' her mom, Katie, said.
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Several dogs were also splashing around the fountain, including 6-month-old pitbull Rocco.
Mylah De Leon brought the young dog to the park for the very first time as part of its training — she knew the greenspace would be crowded and would provide the perfect opportunity for the dog to get exposure therapy to large crowds.
And Rocco handled it like a champ, though he was a little afraid of the Jazz band playing nearby.
'I'm not really a summer person, like this is the hottest I would want to be just walking around outside, but today is gorgeous,' De Leon, 52, of Gramercy, said.
'It's not humid, it's so nice. And feel that breeze? I feel better already.'
Her three teenagers were fully taking advantage of the heat — one was splashing around at Rockaway Beach, another was in Central Park with friends and her daughter was sunbathing on the family's rooftop.
But the best place to be for De Leon was in the park, which she spent her own teenage summers cooling off in the fountain.
'You know the water is clean because [the city] knows kids will go swimming in it!' she said.
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