One of the city's oldest (and best) public pools is finally open for summer after months of delays
For the first time in what feels like forever, Red Hook Pool is actually open.
The beloved Brooklyn swimming spot—the Olympic-sized public pool that's been helping New Yorkers survive summer since 1936—officially welcomed swimmers back on Saturday, July 18, after another frustrating round of mechanical problems delayed its opening by several weeks. It's welcome news for a neighborhood that endured nearly all of last summer without its signature pool and then watched this year's opening get pushed back yet again.
Just days before public pools were scheduled to open in late June, NYC Parks discovered flooding inside the pool's filter plant that damaged motors and other equipment. The agency ultimately replaced four motors before deeming the facility safe to reopen, allowing the pool to open about two weeks earlier than its initial repair estimate.
"We know how important this pool is to the Red Hook community and we appreciate everyone's support and patience as we worked to reopen the pool," Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura said in a statement.
Last year, the pool didn’t open on time after a decades-old 16-inch feeder pipe failed just before opening day. Repairs lasted much of the season, leaving residents without one of the neighborhood's few places to cool off during a sweltering summer. This year brought a different problem but a familiar outcome: another delayed opening kept the pool closed during our early July heat wave, which sent temperatures soaring above 100 degrees.
During this year's closure, NYC Parks kept the site's spray showers running so residents could cool off and continued operating its free summer meals program for anyone 18 and younger. But for many Red Hook families, neither was a substitute for the neighborhood's only public pool. The facility typically attracts about 40,000 visitors each summer, according to Parks Department data.
Now swimmers can once again dive into one of the city's largest pools beginning at 11am daily. As always, remember to bring a combination lock for the lockers and proper swimwear—the pool also closes daily from 3 to 4 pm for cleaning.
This year is also a milestone for the historic facility, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary alongside several other public pools that opened in 1936 across New York City as part of a massive Depression-era public works program.
The pool's next chapter is already on the horizon. NYC Parks plans to begin a $122 million renovation of the pool and recreation center in 2028, replacing aging infrastructure and adding resiliency improvements designed to prevent the kinds of failures that have plagued recent summers.
After two years of disappointing false starts, though, Red Hook residents can finally focus on what matters most: getting back in the water.
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