Scorcher in NYC with little relief

NEW YORK (PIX11) --- It felt like the dog days of August in New York on Sunday, with weeks to go before the start of summer.

Many enjoyed the hot and sultry temperatures. There were some problems though for people who headed to Central Park to beat the heat: not all the sprinklers were on.

“There’s no water,”  Hansel Benedictine, 11, told PIX11 News. “So the sprinklers are not working.”

Benedictine said it felt like it was "100 degrees out and that he "100 percent" wanted the sprinklers at Hecksher Playground to work. His mother, Soraly Vasquez, concurred.

“I’m a little bit disappointed. They [her twin sons playing in the sand] are sweating, as you can see,” she said. 

More than 600 of the Parks Department's 800 spray showers were turned on Sunday to help New Yorkers stay cool, a department spokesperson said.

Some enjoyed the steamy weather -- sprinklers or no sprinklers. Carly Bechdel gathered with friends in Sheep Meadow to celebrate her 29th birthday.

“It’s a little sweaty,” Bechdel said. “But I am happy to be out and enjoying,”

Nearby, with only three weeks to go before her due date, Heather Figlar was enjoying the shade in a bikini. She was there with a good friend trying to stay cool, calm and collected before her due date in mid June.   

“I was a little scared but it feels good,” she said.