‘Pop-Up Pool’ at Brooklyn Bridge Park to open Friday — Updated

July 3, 2012 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Brooklyn Bridge Park prepares to open pool

Share this:

A tantalizing little jewel of a swimming pool has recently popped up at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and park officials say it will be opening to the public Friday morning.

“We’re inviting you to grab your flip flops and bathing suit and head down to Pier 2 for Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pop-Up Pool and beach,” Nancy Webster, Executive Director of Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy told the Brooklyn Eagle on Monday.

State Senator Daniel Squadron will join Brooklyn Bridge Park President Regina Myer, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy Executive Director Nancy Webster, Assemblymember Joan Millman, Councilmember Steve Levin, and a representative from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s office to cut the ribbon on the new pool on Friday at 9:45 a.m.

The new pool, situated on the uplands of Pier 2, is not a behemoth like the new McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg — it’s comparatively diminutive at 30’ x 50’ and 3.5 feet deep. But if the wildly popular “Floating Pool Lady” moored at the foot of Atlantic Avenue in 2006 is an indicator, the little pool is likely to be a hit.

“We anticipate that the Pop-Up Pool will be very popular with park visitors, and will appreciate your cooperation in ensuring that all swimmers will have a chance to enjoy the pool,” advises the park’s website. The maximum capacity of the pool is 60 people at one time, so the day will be divided into swimming sessions to accommodate as many swimmers as possible.

Beyond sparkling water, the pool will include a beach, deck, food and drink concessions, picnic tables, showers and restrooms. There will be a sand beach next to the pool with about 25 lounge chairs and 10 picnic tables.

Open swim hours will run from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Mondays and Saturdays, and 11:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. all other days, through Labor Day. “Moderately priced” learn-to-swim lessons will be available in the mornings from 8 to 10 a.m.

The pool was secured as part of Sen.Daniel Squadron’s and Assemblymember Joan Millman’s agreement that allowed park construction to move forward with reduced housing last summer. It will be there for at least five summers as part of that agreement. In the meantime, the campaign to build a giant, plus-shaped floating river water pool in Brooklyn, preferably off Brooklyn Bridge Park, has raised more than $41,000 in a Kickstarter campaign. The +Pool design team has been hard at work this year testing filters and consulting with engineers, according to their Kickstarter updates.