Some outdoor public pools will reopen as early as July 24, but with new coronavirus-related rules including the use of face coverings outside the water and social distancing, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday.
“There are restrictions. It’s going to be different,” de Blasio said during his daily press briefing about the post-pandemic pool season.
“There’s going to be spacing with people waiting in line to go in, there’s going to be a lot of things to really make sure we hold on to the progress we’ve made on health care. But it will all be worth it and for our kids in particular it’s going to help them to have a better summer,” he said.
The Parks Department will welcome swimmers at 15 of its 53 pools across the five boroughs this summer following a reopening delay due to the virus and the related budget crisis.
The Mullaly pool in the Bronx, Liberty in Queens and Wagner in Manhattan will open on July 24. The remaining 13 will follow suit on Aug. 1.
Those are Crotona and Haffen in the Bronx; Sunset, Betsy Head and K-Pool in Brooklyn; Hamilton Fish, Jackie Robinson, and Marcus Garvey in Manhattan; Astoria and Fisher in Queens; and Lyons and Tottenville on Staten Island.
“It’s not all of our pools. The truth is we had to choose the ones we thought would have the maximum benefit for the communities hit hardest, the largest pools we could open, the ones for the folks who were the farthest from the beaches,” de Blasio said.
“We had to make some choices but I think these 15 pools are going to make a big big difference for people in communities all over New York City,” he said.
People must wear masks when they’re not in the pool, stay six feet apart both inside and outside the water and limit group sizes to 10 or fewer.
The shortened pool season will cost the city $9.9 million.
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