Town of Brookhaven pools and beaches will now have stations so people can get their SPF.

During a press conference at Cedar Beach West in Mount Sinai Thursday, July 29, Supervisor Ed Romaine (R) and Councilwoman Jane Bonner (R-Rocky Point) announced that new, free sunscreen stations will start to pop up thanks to a collaboration with Northwell Health.

The touchless applicator stations will release the sunscreen so people can use it before they head to the beach — a reminder as soon as they walk in that it’s there. 

“We can’t stress the importance of sunscreen enough,” Bonner said. “You have to start when you’re very young, you have to prevent the burns and prevent the exposure that builds up over time — even if it’s an overcast day.”

Nancy Uzo, vice president for public affairs at Mather Hospital, said that skin cancer affects one in five adults by the time they hit age 70. 

“If you have had five bad sunburns in your lifetime, your risk of developing melanoma goes up substantially,” she said. 

The free sunscreen program was initiated to generate awareness about how sunscreen can make a difference in the spread of skin cancer and melanoma.  

The program was launched by Creative Advertising Concepts which set up the first sunscreen program, in the City of Long Beach with partner Winthrop Hospital, back in 2017. Currently, CAC manages 13 programs with 11 on Long Island and two in Westchester County. 

The sunscreen dispensers are endorsed by IMPACT Melanoma — a national nonprofit dedicated to working to reduce the incidence of melanoma.

Romaine said that when he was young, he never used sunscreen — and it led to skin cancer later on. 

“I’ve had surgery on my arm, surgery on my head, the tip of my nose from skin cancer,” he said. “It is something that happens if you get too much sun exposure. … You’ve got to protect yourself. We have to say ‘no’ to skin cancer.”