Howard Pool, courtesy nycgovparks.org
More than 20,000 Brooklynites have hit the public pools in just four days
The public pools system—including 13 in Brooklyn—opened back up Saturday after a year of social distancing. What you need to know
Looking for a break from these hellmouth temperatures? After a pandemic year that kept New Yorkers inside (or on their roofs), the city’s public pools opened last Saturday—just in time for the heatwave.
Brooklyn alone has 13 public pools now open daily from 11 a.m to 7 p.m until September 12, with breaks for cleaning from 3-4 p.m. each day. Four of them—Bushwick Pool, Commodore Barry Pool, Douglas and DeGraw Pool, and Howard Pool—have been redesigned under the “cool pools” program and feature a few design upgrades, new umbrellas, polar-themed art, and a bright new paint palette.
All four of these “cool” pools were built in the late 1960’s and early 70’s as a part of the city’s second wave of public pool construction and are smaller than the massive Olympic-sized basins built in the 1930’s by the Works Progress Administration under the oversight of Robert Moses (including the McCarren Pool, Red Hook Pool, Betsy Head Pool and Sunset Park, which may have the best view in the city).
Brooklyn pools received nearly 499,262 visits in 2019, according to numbers provided by the NYC Parks Department, and more than 20,600 Brooklynites have already made waves in the first four days that the pools were open.
“The Summer of New York City will be a season unlike any other. And this year, we’re making timeless summer classics like city pools more fun and vibrant than ever,” Mayor Bill DeBlasio at an opening ceremony in Van Cortlandt Park. “I can’t wait to join New Yorkers in staying cool and enjoying the outdoors this summer.”
Face coverings will be required to enter all pool facilities (but not in the pool) and there will be no capacity restrictions or social distancing requirements.
More about the cool pools:
Bushwick Pool sits at the border of Williamsburg and Bushwick and features a playground, handball courts, spray showers and swings.
Commodore Barry Pool is located in the oldest park in Brooklyn, which shares the pool’s name and is adjacent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Howard pool is between Ocean Hill and Brownsville and features a playground with sprinklers and can hold 180 swimmers.
The Douglas and DeGraw Pool, known to locals as the “Double D,” is situated by the Thomas Greene Playground in Gowanus that holds basketball and handball courts as well as picnic tables and water fountains.
Howard Pool in Brownsville includes a playground, an intermediate-sized pool and a wading pool, and it’s got learn-to-swim programs and exercise programs for seniors.
