New York's Cooper's Beach named America's top beach

Rounding out the top 10 are Coronado Beach, Calif. (3), Cape Hatteras, N.C. (4), Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honololu (No. 6), Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, Mass. (7), Beachwalker Park in Kiawah Island, S.C. (8), and Hamoa Beach in Maui, Hawaii (9).

SHOOT: Guess the path of the oil slick might mean a few changes need to be made to that list.

clipped from news.yahoo.com "New York has world-class beaches, but I don't think a lot of people in the United States know about them," said Dr. Stephen Leatherman, director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research. Known by the moniker Dr. Beach, this is Leatherman's 20th year of compiling a list of the country's top 10. This year's list includes two beaches in Florida, and Leatherman said he was not worried about pollution from the oil spill affecting those locations. Siesta Beach in Sarasota took the No. 2 spot on the list, and Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne was No. 10. He said Cape Florida, on the southeast coast, "doesn't get the wave activity" that can lead to tar balls washing up. As for Siesta Beach, he said he had looked at currents and believes "there's very low probability the oil will get to southwest Florida." "I kind of think the east end of Long Island is a well-kept secret for most Americans."