The Northeast’s record-breaking January temperatures disrupted another winter tradition over the weekend when it prompted a protest by polar bears–the human kind.
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For the first time in the 104-year history of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, a group known for dips in icy waters, members demonstrated by literally turning their backs on the ocean.
“The swims are not invigorating,” said club president Louis Scarcella, describing the “non-swim” on a balmy Saturday as a protest against climate warming. “This year, the water has been so warm it’s really not a challenge anymore.”
Scarcella said that with a weekend ocean temperature of 53 degrees off the beach at Coney Island, far above the 32 degrees many of the swimmers prefer, he has been considering canceling the annual winter swim season for the first time.
“This is not normal,” Scarcella, 55, said of the weather, noting the tulips sprouting outside his window.
The National Weather Service reported many record temperatures across the Northeast on Saturday, including 72 degrees in New York’s Central Park.
“The whole idea is the colder the better,” said Capri “Princess Polar Bear” Djatiasmoro, 55, a club member for seven years who was about to dive in at Coney Island on Sunday without her usual gloves and booties to keep numbness at bay.
“It’s very sad,” she said. “It’s just not as fun as it used to be.”