Water filtration tests have already begun for a floating public pool in the East River, in advance of a hoped-for opening off of the Lower East Side next summer. It will be the first pool of its kind in NYC, capping a more than ten-year effort to make it a reality.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams jointly announced that the + POOL, which will fittingly resemble a “plus” sign, would be stationed next to Pier 35.
The “filtration demonstration project” will last three months. Plans for the rollout of + POOL was announced by public officials in January of this year, but they had not decided on where it would be based. The project was initially funded by a Kickstarter campaign, which was started more than decade ago by Family and PlayLab, the design group that conceived of the idea for the pool. Both the mayor and the governor note that the project could provide a refuge from increasingly hot summers caused by climate change.
“Through innovative solutions like + POOL, we are providing children and their families with safe spaces to swim in NYC,” Gov. Hochul said in a statement.
“New York’s waterways are some of our most important assets. By exploring the possibility of a + POOL, we are not only building on our historic investment in public pools throughout the city, but also expanding equitable access to swimming for all New Yorkers, especially our children,” Mayor Adams added, in a statement of his own.
Hochul and Adams were joined in their enthusiasm for “+ POOL” by local representatives, as well, especially ones who will see their district benefit from such a unique project.
“I join so many people in our community in saying that I am thrilled at the prospect of +POOL coming to our community,” State Senator Brian Kavanagh said. “Today’s announcement is a tremendous step forward in providing safe and accessible swimming opportunities for all New Yorkers.” He also called the pool “intriguing.”
Public officials have framed + POOL as an initiative that builds on other swim-safety related measures. In June, Mayor Adams announced that $1 billion in improvements will be going towards NYC’s public pools over the course of five years.
That investment–dubbed “Let’s Swim NYC” and conducted in partnership with the city’s Parks Department–intends to capitalize on similar mayoral efforts to alleviate a dire lifeguard shortage. Outside of hiking wages to attract lifeguard recruits, the city has begun using drone technology to spot struggling swimmers, sparking concerns from some privacy advocates.
In marked contrast to investments such as Let’s Swim NYC, Adams also cut funding for the city’s universal and free second-grade swim program last November, after he claimed that he had to close a $7 billion city budget deficit. The program had been allocated just over $5 million in the city’s budget just months before. While many programs were restored in the fiscal 2025 budget, the second-grade swim program was not one of them.
The city recently said that it had over 900 trained lifeguards on duty, which encompasses both the city’s 14 miles of oceanfront beaches and its Parks Department-operated swimming pools. That’s still far short of the 1,500 personnel needed to keep all ocean beaches open and staffed, and to provide enough lifeguards to administer youth swim programs in the city’s pools. Only one public swimming pool in Manhattan is offering youth swim programs this summer, at the Lower East Side’s Hamilton Fish Pool.
Some of Governors Hochul’s swim-safety initiatives might partially combat that added gap. A $1.5 million state grant program, formally known as Connect Kids to Swimming, will reimburse transportation and parking fees for K-12 students participating in eligible swim instruction programs (such as those administered by the Red Cross or the YMCA). Each outlet can be reimbursed up to $45,000. Guidelines are available on the “Connect Kids” State Parks website.