Yes, You Can Still Swim at Sylvan Beach – Just Not All Of It

Village officials have put an end to swimming at a small part of Sylvan Beach - but you may have heard otherwise. Don't fall for misleading headlines.

You may have seen the headlines shouting 'Swimming Banned at Sylvan Beach' - unfortunately, that's a pretty misleading headline, and could negatively impact tourism at the beach.

Earlier this year, the village announced that their part of the beach area - which accounts for 125 feet of the 4800 ft beachfront - would be marked as "Swim At Your Own Risk."

According to reporting by Syracuse.com in April, the village of Sylvan Beach would not be hiring lifeguards to staff the beach this summer. The supervised swimming area at the beach is just a small part of the 4800 ft beachfront - the village said at the time they were surprised to learn from Oneida County officials that they would have to provide lifeguards for the entire beach, something the village says they couldn't afford to do.

Now Syracuse.com is reporting that the village beach will be marked as "No Swimming" - but only the area behind DiCastro's - formerly Pfohl's Beach House  - a small portion of the overall beach. 

Gary Johnson, a local musician and Sylvan Beach resident took to Facebook yesterday to express his displeasure:

"SYLVAN BEACH IS NOT CLOSING. The small area behind DiCastro's which was previously staffed by lifeguards is no longer open, but the REST OF THE BEACH IS STILL SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Maybe if I didn't feel like certain individuals in power are dying to see our village turned into a retirement community, I wouldn't be so inclined to point out that they could have been much more adamant in stressing that ONLY 125 FEET OF BEACH IS CLOSING, AND THE OTHER 4675 FEET IS STILL OPEN.
Am I the only one concerned that the headline "Sylvan Beach Closing" doesn't seem to bother them enough to actually get out ahead of the story and do this themselves?
Our businesses don't need anything else counting against them, so please share this status with everyone you can."

This status caused quite a debate within the comments - with some expressing concerns about the village's decision - but all in agreement that the "No Swimming" area of the beach is only a small part of the entire beach shoreline. The remaining 4675 feet will still be open to swimming.