Cold without snow is a waste...
My parents grew up in Far Rockaway and Belle Harbor from the mid 40's until they went to O'side in 1970 with a short stint in Brooklyn in the late 60s. They talked about the whole neighborhood spending the night on the beach many times in the 50s. My mom went to the beach or her neighbors cabana and and my dad's house was a few up from the beach so they put mattresses out on the 2nd floor porches. Those same 2nd floor porches were where they'd watch the ocean come up the street during big storms a few times a year, was probably a few times in the decade but, ya know.