New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a first-of-its-kind floating swimming pool in city waters — expanding swimming access and addressing equity gaps for city residents as extreme heat events rise. Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul announced that the city and state will jointly fund a +Pool — a water-filtering, floating, portable pool that will offer New Yorkers a new space to swim in the waters surrounding New York City.
“When we came into office two years ago, we had a mission: Protect public safety, revitalize the economy, and make this city more livable for hardworking New Yorkers. Every day, we are delivering on this vision for New Yorkers, including by investing in our children’s safety with new swimming infrastructure,” said Mayor Adams. “I’m proud to partner with Governor Hochul to bring the +Pool, a unique and innovative swimming pool, to New York City — expanding access to swimming for all New Yorkers.”
“As part of my new NY SWIMS initiative — the Statewide Investment in Municipal Swimming — I’m proud to partner with Mayor Adams to advance a long-stalled, innovative floating pool concept: the +Pool,” said Governor Hochul. “Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4 and extreme heat is making the need for safe summer recreation more urgent than ever. NY SWIMS is a bold ambitious plan to tackle this issue here in New York City and across the State of New York.”
“Whether you are a young person taking swimming lessons or an older adult enjoying recreational time cooling off in the water, increased swimming access is a benefit to all New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “We are hopeful that this unique project will ultimately result in expanded access to swimming, help address equity access gaps, and show how a strong city-state partnership can benefit the community and the environment.”
“With ever-rising and more frequent heat waves, we need to be bold and creative on the ways New Yorkers can stay cool,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “With today’s announcement we are expanding our cooling efforts as well as our aquatic footprint, using our waterways for double duty — fun and safety. We’re just getting started.”
“Public pools play a vital role in New York City by providing recreational opportunities, access to water safety instruction, and critical relief from increasingly hot summers,” said New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Today’s announcement is a much-needed investment in our city’s future, and one that will enhance equity by increasing swim access for all New Yorkers.”
The +Pool will be tested in the summer of 2024 and, after fulfilling all health and safety requirements, is scheduled to be opened to the public next year. To help ensure floating pools meet all appropriate public health standards, the New York State Department of Health is releasing new guidance covering this new category of swimming pools.
Today’s announcement builds on the city’s work to expand access to swimming pools across New York City, including $147 million for a new recreation center with an indoor pool at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans, Queens, and the $141 million Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center with an indoor pool in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. NYC Parks is one of the largest providers of free swim classes in the city and their free, year-round aquatics programming allows New Yorkers to make swimming a lifetime recreation and fitness habit.
