Yesss! Reprieve for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pop-Up Pool

Season extended to Summer 2018

September 19, 2017 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Hooray! Brooklyn Bridge Park says the popular Pop-Up Pool will be open for one more season next summer. Shown: Dozens of families cooled off in the Pop-Up Pool on opening day this past June. Photo by Mary Frost

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Hooray! Kids will get to splish and splash for one more summer in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s popular Pop-Up Pool, the park announced on Monday.

The temporary pool will be open for one last season through September 2018. Nestled into the uplands at Pier 2, the free Pop-Up Pool first opened in 2012, and includes a beach, deck concessions, showers and restrooms.

The 30-by-50-foot pool, only 3 ½ feet deep, has been a big hit with parkgoers, who come from both the nearby neighborhood and from across the borough to enjoy a free swim.

The pool was slated to close after the 2016 season, but after a determined campaign by Brooklyn families and former state Sen. Daniel Squadron, the attraction received a one-year extension after its original five year term expired.

Next summer will be absolutely the last year for the pool, however, as it is located in the site of the planned Pier 2 uplands where construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2018.

The 3.4 acres of parkland that will replace the pool will be accessible year-round and will feature hills with pathways, a water play area and trees, according to the park.

“We’re thrilled that we will be able to have one more season of the pop-up pool next summer,” Eric Landau, president of Brooklyn Bridge Park, said in a statement. “It’s been an amazing summer destination for Brooklynites and visitors every year that it’s been open and we look forward to another great pool season in 2018.”

The parents group Love Our Pool (LOP) gathered more than 1,300 signatures from more than 30 Zip codes and worked with local officials to keep the pool open past its expiration date last year. LOP’s organizers were awarded a community service award by the Brooklyn Heights Association in March.

“Much like a year ago, LOP is thrilled that Brooklyn Bridge Park has listened to the community in choosing to keep the beloved Pop-Up open an additional year,” LOP co-organizer Lee Levine said in a statement.

She added, “Eric Landau and his leadership team recognize how a community pool is critical to the success of a great urban park meeting the needs of the community both near and far. Love Our Pool believes this is a necessary first step toward our ultimate goal of securing a permanent pool in Brooklyn Bridge Park. And we will continue to work with the park on making that vision a reality.”

Since 2012, hundreds of kids have learned to swim in the little pool.

Lee Levine, a LOL representative, told the Brooklyn Eagle this past June that his son Izzy learned to swim there.

“He started at 4; now he’s about to turn 8,” Levine said. “He’s an advanced swimmer and we owe it all to the pool. Because four-days-in-a-row swim lessons created enough momentum that, unlike doing once a week swim lessons, he was able on the fourth day to finally put his face in the water. And that was four years ago.”

A slew of local officials also applauded the park’s decision to keep a good thing going for one more year.

Borough President Eric Adams said he was pleased that Brooklyn Bridge Park “is showing their responsiveness to the community’s call for another year of this aquatic attraction.” He has applauded the pool for bringing diverse families together from all over the borough.

“This pool has a special place in the hearts of the community and I’m proud Brooklynites will be able to enjoy it for another year,” said Councilmember Stephen Levin. U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon joined in on the applause.

“Everyone loves the pop-up pool, which is another great way to enjoy our treasured park and waterfront,” Simon said.