How to fumble a simple hazard warning about NYC beaches
Those of us who’ve signed up to receive text alerts from the impressive NYC system Notify NYC, know we open ourselves up to a wide range of warnings, notices, and concerning information that can intrude at any time day or night. (Let’s not go there)
Some days a “Silver Alert” about a missing elderly man with dementia. Other times it’s a “Heat Advisory” warning me to stay hydrated.
Today it was a text about the condition of NY Beaches 2 days after the NY area were deluged with over a foot of rain that sluiced tons of runoff into the beaches.
The text from Notify NYC read:
“The advisories have been lifted”!
How high?
Lifted off of what?
Is it like “lifting your voice” – making it higher and louder? (OED primary definitions applied)
“lifted” here is a word used for legal purposes, not the right word for public consumption.
BTW, notice the passive verb that further complicates this simple message.
A Rewrite
The NYC Dept. of Health reports that all NYC public beaches are now safe for swimming. There are NO beach advisories. …