Bonus Day at the Beach, if Not for That Shutdown Malia Scharf and her boyfriend, Lucas McGowen, relaxed on Wednesday on the sand at Jacob Riis Park in Queens, despite the closing of the beach because of the government shutdown. The air was warm, with just the right amount of breeze. The waves flashed translucent green before breaking on the beach at Jacob Riis Park in Queens. And there was not a cloud in sight. In other words, it was a perfect beach day, and despite the calendar, a rare opportunity to sneak in some sand and surf before the leaves start to fall. There was just one problem. Because of the federal government shutdown, the beach, which is run by the National Park Service, was officially closed on Wednesday. In the late morning, a park police officer began waving a steady stream of cars away from the parking lot, located on the western end of the Rockaway Peninsula. Those who had already secured a spot were warned that they could be given a ticket. Malia Scharf, an actress and filmmaker from Brooklyn, and her boyfriend, Lucas McGowen, also a filmmaker, took their chances. They arrived with all the essentials: a surfboard, a couple of towels and a picnic lunch of bread, prosciutto and mozzarella. It had not occurred to them that the impasse in Washington might trickle down to their favorite strip of sand. "I didn't really make the connection," Ms. Scharf said. It's madness. Other holdouts were puzzled over the decision to close Jacob Riis in particular. The beach is open year-round, but after Labor Day, there are no lifeguards on duty and the bathrooms are closed. "It doesn't make any sense," said Ronald Lewis, a retired state employee from Brooklyn, who pulled his car into a makeshift parking lot after the police officer left his post. I think they just want to remind us that the government has shut down, in case we forgot. Before leaving, the police officer erected a large sign that read "Park Closed Due to Government Shutdown: Do Not Enter." He referred all inquiries to the press office of Gateway National Recreation Area, which manages Jacob Riis Park, as well as Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens and Sandy Hook in New Jersey. But the press office was closed. "Because of the federal government shutdown, I have been furloughed," a Gateway spokeswoman, Daphne Yun, announced on her voice mail greeting. I cannot check for messages until the government reopens. Some people who set out to savor the day ran into more than one roadblock because of the shutdown. Linda Vincenti, a recent college graduate from Middle Village, Queens, first tried to visit the nearby Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge with her 75-year-old grandmother, Marcia Castro. But orange cones dotted the entrances to the trails, and the visitor center there was locked. Then they tried Jacob Riis. They left their car at a nearby firehouse, where her father is a firefighter, and walked in. "I figured this was going to be closed, too, but I didn't care," Ms. Vincenti said. I'm a little annoyed because it's so nice out. Two miles east on the same peninsula, Rockaway Beach, which is operated by New York City, was hopping, however. A few hundred beachgoers were stretched out across the sand, making it feel more like a typical weekday in early August than early October. Teenage girls sunned themselves on striped towels, and older couples read paperbacks under beach umbrellas. A young boy dug in the sand. Swimming is banned on city beaches after Labor Day, when lifeguards go off duty, but the park workers who usually whistle bathers out of the water were nowhere in evidence. Several beachgoers ventured into the surf. Among them was Jeffrey Rose, a clinical hypnotist who was taking a beach break between morning and evening appointments on the Upper East Side. "The water is warmer now than in June," he said before running headlong into the waves. Nathalie Housset, 54, of Rego Park, Queens, agreed. "It's refreshing," she said, after emerging from the water. It's lovely to be able to come to the beach this time of year. Back at Jacob Riis Park, Marty Kunik, a retired teacher sporting khaki shorts and Teva sandals, was trying to relax with a book, "Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan" - decidedly not a beach read. Wanting to avoid a ticket, he had one eye on his car, which was parked next to the Art Deco bathhouse that had taken a beating during Hurricane Sandy and was still awaiting repairs. "I'll leave if they make me," he said. Like others at Jacob Riis, Mr. Kunik, of Sunnyside, Queens, forgot that the government shutdown would affect the beach, despite the extensive publicity about closings of national parks and monuments. The disconnect may have something to do with the fact that while Gateway is one of the largest federally operated recreation areas in the country, most New Yorkers do not think of the Rockaways in the same light as Mount Rushmore or Yosemite. Mr. Kunik was not sure whether he would be back this week. "The way things are going in Washington, this might be closed for months," he said. That's the way it is. It's federal land. They can't make an exception.