Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Lifeguards Going Beyond The Call

Photo by Charlie Gili

On July 4, Lifeguards Andrey Polundnev and Nora Maloney were manning the Bay 18 tower on Coney Island when they were approached by a man who told them to call 911. The man then placed a gun under his chin and shot himself. Lifeguard Maloney blew the emergency whistle to alert other lifeguards to respond to her location. She then removed the gun from the victim’s hand and used her t-shirt to stop bleeding. Lieutenant Lifeguard Lantiqua Sime arrived shortly after, and organized several lifeguards to alternate CPR and rescue breathing procedures.

PS1 Lisa McBayne and SAPSW Clarence Williams IV were at nearby Nautilus Playground when they heard the whistle go off. They immediately jumped in a Beach Gator and responded to the scene. They met with lifeguards and helped them transport the victim to the boardwalk.

While awaiting assistance from NYPD and EMS, a team of lifeguards alternated performing rescue breathing and CPR on the victim. EMS eventually
transported the victim to Coney Island Hospital, where, despite the efforts of our crew, he was pronounced dead.

At last week’s Employee of the Month breakfast, we honored each of these individuals for heroism under extraordinary circumstances and for going Beyond the Call of duty. They are: Lifeguard Staff Nora Maloney, Andrey Poludnev, Lantiqua Sime, Mario Zoga, Daniel Tomkin, Jack Kolotov, Richard Griffith, Pawel Blodowski, Ricardo Sewell, Andriy Kapys, Ronald Vernon, and Robert Garcia, and M&O staff PS1 Lisa McBayne, and SAPSW Clarence Williams IV.

Joseph Mauro is the Public Programs Employee of the Month for June.
Joseph is a Recreation Supervisor and has been with Parks since May 14, 1999. Joseph started his career at Parks as a seasonal Playground Associate and worked his way up to his current position in February of 2006. As Queens’ sports coordinator, Joseph is responsible for all city and boroughwide sport and fitness programs in Queens. He recently took on the additional responsibility of monitoring the Recreation portion of the Storehouse. Joseph recently coordinated the Shape Up New York fitness program funded by State Senator Serphin Maltese. He acted as a liaison with the Senator’s office, and was responsible for attaining and overseeing a budget of $30,000. The program will take place at Juniper Valley Park and Lost Battalion Hall. In addition to his every day responsibilities, Joseph is a certified CPR/RTE instructor, and is working to certify all Queens Recreation staff in both areas. Joseph was nominated by Kelly Gillen, Deputy Chief of Recreation and Renee LaJeunesse, Chief of Citywide Recreation.

Written by Kamil Krawczyk

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“So little time and so little to do.”

Oscar Levant
(1906 – 1972)