Syringes On New York City Beaches: Four People Pricked By Hypodermic Needle In Three Weeks

Four people in just three weeks have been pricked by hypodermic needles at New York City beaches.

A Walk In The Park reports three of the incidents occurred at Staten Island beaches and one at Rockaway Beach in Queens.

A female lifeguard stepped on a needle while on duty Tuesday at Rockaway Beach near 139th Street. The three Staten Island victims have been identified as a 63-year old woman, a 37-year old man, and a 40-year old man.

"It's a bay, we're not on an ocean," a source in the Parks department, who requested anonymity, told A Walk In The Park of the Staten Island incidents. "This happens all the time. People dump stuff and it washes up here. You have to be careful. The public should be warned."

n June, multiple syringes were found along Rockaway Beach at 139th Street. Among the syringes was one with an exposed needle.

In 2011, eight Long Island beaches were forced to shut down after medical waste including dozens of needles and pill bottles washed ashore.

Watch a video from the multiple syringes found in the Rockaways earlier this summer: