Outdoor public pools in New York City won’t open until June 27, leaving residents with fewer options to find refuge from this week’s heat wave.
The city’s 53 public outdoor pools are popular destinations in the summer. The pools, which are dotted across all five boroughs and are free to use, were visited more than one million times in 2022, according to city data. But this week, with temperatures expected to climb into the 90s, New Yorkers will have to seek out other destinations to cool off.
Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday that the city would devote $1 billion to improving the city’s network of public pools over the next five years, though the new funding won’t help sweltering residents this year. Eventually, it will cover the costs of building two new indoor pools and renovating existing facilities.
“New York City’s pools and beaches are incredible places for New Yorkers to come together, learn to swim and beat the heat — and as climate change makes heat waves like this week’s more common and more severe, the need for pools has never been greater,” said Mr. Adams in a statement on Tuesday.
Like cities across the country, New York also faces an ongoing lifeguard shortage. Last year, pools opened when the city had around half the 1,000 lifeguards they usually have on hand, prompting parks officials to close sections of some pools. Now, the city says it is in better shape after it agreed to raise lifeguard wages for the second time in two years, this time to $22 per hour. The city will also offer a $1,000 retention bonus to lifeguards who worked last year and who agree to remain on duty through this year’s peak season.
Indoor swimming pools are open year-round, though there are far fewer of them in the city and most New Yorkers must pay an annual membership fee to use them. Adults 65 and older qualify for a discounted rate, and people 24 and younger can swim for free.
On Tuesday, New Yorkers were already suffering from elevated temperatures as the heat index in parts of the city surpassed 90 degrees. With pools closed, families sought out fountains and shade in parks. Governor Kathy Hochul said admission and parking at New York State Parks would be free on Wednesday and Thursday.
Praise Mkandawire, 28, watched her three children jump through sprinklers and play with water toys at a park in Harlem. Her family recently moved to New York from North Carolina and are used to the heat.
“At least here there’s splash pads close by, so we’re taking advantage,” she said.
Though it might feel as if summer is already in full swing, New York’s outdoor pools aren’t opening any later than they have in recent years. They opened on June 29 last year, and June 28 in 2022.
The increased funding announced Tuesday isn’t set to change when pools open, but Councilman Shekar Krishnan proposed legislation this year that would both open the pools earlier in the year and keep them open longer each day.
“On the most sweltering days in New York City, like what we’re experiencing this week, New Yorkers escape to our public pools and beaches to cool off,” Mr. Krishnan, whose district is in Queens, said in a statement. “But pools are useless, and beaches are dangerous, if they are closed and unstaffed.”
Currently, outdoor pools are set to open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, with an hour for cleaning starting at 3 p.m. Mr. Krishnan’s proposal would require that they open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
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