[Photo at Dry Dock from Sunday]
The Parks Department opens the city's 55 outdoor public pools for the summer today (Thursday!).
Around here, this means Hamilton Fish Pool on Pitt and East Houston ... the Dry Dock Pool on Avenue D and East 10th Street ... and the Tompkins Square Pool (mini pool for kids!) ...
Most pools are open from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m., with a break for pool cleaning between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
There are rules though to help govern our swimming season. Some helpful pointers via the Parks Department website (bolded a few things for you):
What to Wear
You’ll need to have a swimsuit to enter the pool area. We may choose to check men’s shorts for a lining if we can’t tell if they are wearing a bathing suit. Feel the need to cover up from the sun? Throw on a plain white shirt or white hat and you’re set. We don’t allow shirts with colors on them on the deck.
Information for Parents
Thinking of bringing floaties? It’s safer to leave them at home and just stay in the shallow end of the pool until everyone learns to swim. Want to venture deeper? Try some of our free swimming classes.
Babies or toddlers can put on swim diapers before they head into the water. While we may be able to find a place to park your stroller, we can’t keep an eye on it for you, so bring it at your own risk.
What to Bring
Make sure you have a sturdy lock when you head out to the pool. It will keep your valuables safe, and let you hit the water feeling more secure about your belongings. Locks are required to enter, and we will not accept luggage locks.
What Not to Bring
You’ll need to leave food, glass bottles, electronic devices, and newspapers at home. Unbound periodicals tend to blow around and create litter, food can be messy to clean up after, and there’s too much water around to make sure your electronics stay safe. Just to be on the safe side, we also recommend leaving valuables like jewelry and credit cards at home.
Again, these are not my rules. So don't take out your no-floatie frustrations here.
Finally, go here for info about the Hamilton Fish Pool Lap Swim program.
A visual primer on pool etiquette
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkzMtzHni_0
How about save yourself a bunch of time and tell us the two or three things that ARE allowed at the pool. Jesus Christ, sounds more fun and joyous to stand underneath a running garden hose than to swim at a NY public pool.
ReplyDeleteWho needs a swimsuit? We used to climb over the fences at night and all the kids went swimming with their clothes on. Since it was dark out, no one got a sunburn. Some kids would jump off the roof into the pool. And then the cops would come, and hundreds of soaking wet kids went flying back over the fences. The next day you had to run around all day in wet sneakers that would make squishing sounds, but they kept your feet nice and cool. I guarantee you that no kid who summered in the Hamptons ever had that much fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks, this reminded me to register for the evening lap swim. Pool is well used but not crazy, and its very pleasant to swim outdoors in the evening.
ReplyDeleteOK, I understand why no glass bottles and why no floaters (although I think that *any* kind of poop should be banned, not just floaters). But no colored t-shirts? How about brown-or-grey-but-used-to-be-white?
ReplyDeleteThe dye from colored shirts could seep into the pool water? The only thing I could think of.
ReplyDeleteI assumed the colored shirts were gang things, in which case they could have just banned red, blue, and black and gold. But that doesn't make too much sense, since there are other ways to wear colors (bathing suits, wristbands).
ReplyDeleteAny other theories? If they're checking men's shorts for linings, they might have an, um, aesthetic interest in the tops as well.