New York, N.Y. – August 7, 2024: Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams today
announced a step forward in demonstrating the feasibility of a filtered floating pool in New
York City waters, which will be located at Pier 35 near Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
New York State is partnering with New York City to jointly fund a three-month water
filtration demonstration project at Pier 35 starting this August as well as a pilot of a
2,000 sq. ft. portion of the pool for final testing in 2025 to help ensure this innovative
model can safely provide swimming access for New Yorkers.
“Through innovative solutions like + POOL, we are providing children and their
families with safe spaces to swim in New York City,” Governor Hochul said. “NY
SWIMS is the largest statewide investment in swimming since the New Deal, and
we’re increasing access to pools while helping our kids learn how to stay safe in the
water.”
“New York City’s waterways are some of our most important assets. By exploring the
possibility of a + POOL, we are not only building on our historic investments in public
pools across the city, but also expanding equitable access to swimming for all New
Yorkers, especially our children,” said Mayor Adams. “Whether it’s investing over $1
billion in capital to build and maintain public pools, opening more pools this summer,
or increasing the number of lifeguards at our beaches and pools, our administration
is giving New Yorkers additional ways to stay cool as climate change makes heat
waves more common. We look forward to continuing to work with Governor Hochul to
achieve an equitable vision for swimming in New York City.”
In January 2024, Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams announced that New York
State and New York City would collaborate on launching + POOL, a state-of-the-art
swimming facility that will float in the waters surrounding New York City. The State
and City are jointly funding the first round of + POOL’s demonstration project starting
this August to provide New York City, NY State, and Friends of + POOL with the data
needed to develop New York City’s first water-filtering floating swimming pool to dock
in the East River in summer 2025.
The scaled version of the filtration system is mounted on a 110 ft. x 36 ft. floating
barge, moored in the waters south of Pier 35. More information about the filtration
system here.
POOL Managing Director Kara Meyer said, “The interagency and community
collaboration to bring NYC’s first water-filtering floating swimming pool to life has
been incredible. It demonstrates New York at its best – when the people are working
together to advocate for change, evolve systems, design solutions, test concepts,
and build innovations. It’s what makes New York, New York.”
“We are grateful for the collaboration of the State and City to bring NYC’s first river sourced
pool to fruition,” says Friends of + POOL Chair George Fontas. “Governor
Hochul and Mayor Adams have shown incredible leadership aligning their agencies
and allocating funding for this ambitious and innovative solution to create safe
swimming locations. + POOL will provide swimming options to communities around
Pier 35 and create opportunities for both kids and adults to swim and respect the
natural resources around them.”
Unlocking Public Access to Urban Waters
Data from the three-month filtration and water quality demonstration will be shared
with the public. Results will show how the + POOL, and its innovative filtration
system will meet water quality standards recently detailed by City and State health
departments for “novel” and “nontraditional” beaches, without the use of chemical
disinfectants, while providing consistent recirculation of filtered water sourced from
the river.
The citizen-driven idea for a floating river pool emerged in 2010 and is being realized
by a grassroots team of designers, naval architects, environmental specialists, and
community organizers. It would not be possible without the community’s years-long
advocacy to City and State agencies through the nonprofit, Friends of + POOL, to
establish a pathway for river swimming and regulations for public access where there
were none.
“Manhattan Community Board 3 warmly welcomes the + POOL, a first of its kind,
to our waterfront. We have fought for this innovative project because it not only
enhances our community’s recreational spaces but also showcases our commitment
to sustainability and public health. Our community district, an Environmental Justice
Area is facing a serious crisis of affordability, and 32% of our children under 18 years
of age live below the poverty level. This project will increase access for youth and their
families to learn to swim, and enjoy a unique way to enjoy the beauty of our East
River,” said Andrea Gordillo, Chairperson, Manhattan Community Board 3.
“Residents of the Lower East Side/Two Bridges neighborhood have been waiting
for decades to re-engage with their waterfront in a meaningful way,” says local
resident and avid swimmer Frank Avila-Goldman. “With growing awareness of the
need to protect our waterways, we welcome + POOL as a resource to reconnect our
environmental justice community with the East River to address climate change. +
POOL will be an accessible world-class option for our neighborhood to cool off in
the summer and will simultaneously connect vulnerable populations with swimming
lessons and programming so future generations become water stewards in the
the greatest city in the world.”
While + POOL is anticipated to be the first to receive a permit granting river
swimming in the NYC harbor, the establishment of new frameworks introduces a path
for other creators to propose their own ideas for expanding access to waterways.
“Our innovative and sustainable approach seeks to provide a safe swimming
environment for people while protecting the natural body of water in which it
operates,” says Vincent Lee, Project Director and Principal, Arup. “We’re proud to
be working towards increasing access to swimming in New York City and creating a
direct connection to the water through the integration of new technologies.”
“Governor Hochul’s NY SWIMS initiative with + POOL has captured the public’s
imagination. We want to see people swimming all around New York City and up and
down the Hudson River,” said Dan Shapley, Senior Director of Advocacy, Policy
and Planning at Riverkeeper. “The world’s great cities can and should make their
rivers safe for swimming to all — especially in the face of heat extremes. To achieve
that vision for the Hudson, we’ll need to update beach regulations and continue to
invest in water quality improvements.”
Friends of + POOL will continue its decade-long mission to provide equitable and
safe access to urban waters, prioritizing free community-based programs that
prepare New Yorkers for safe access, including low-cost swim lessons, environmental
education programs focused on water quality, and water stewardship initiatives. New
programs launched this year in anticipation of operating a first-of-its-kind facility in
New York includes workforce development for local community members developed
in collaboration with Henry Street Settlement and the Lower East Side Employment
Network. The organizations piloted a lifeguard training program, with plans to also
establish programs that train New Yorkers in the unique operations of its first water-filtering
floating swimming pool. + POOL helps bridge the gap to access life-saving
skills and is building a new generation of certified career lifeguards, water quality
experts, and administrators ready to join the workforce.
“As a longstanding human service provider working to expand opportunity on the
Lower East Side, Henry Street Settlement recognizes the tremendous value that
a project like + POOL will bring. Access to this extraordinary resource will yield
multiple benefits, from community building and health and wellness to economic
and workforce development to social and recreational opportunities—while creating
myriad opportunities for residents of all ages,” said David Garza, President &
CEO of Henry Street Settlement and Executive Chair of the Lower East Side
Employment Network.
“We are thrilled with the potential opportunities in workforce development that +POOL is bringing to the Lower East Side community,” says Matthew Phifer, Executive Vice President of Henry Street Settlement. “Our first programs coproduced with Friends of + POOL have been a welcome collaboration.”
History of the Project
In 2010, Dong-Ping Wong brought an idea for a water-filtering floating swimming
pool to his friends and fellow designers, Archie Lee Coates IV, Jeffrey Franklin, and
Oana Stanescu. The four young designers imagined a future where New Yorkers could
engage with the water that surrounds them on a regular basis. Through its design, the
four hoped to change the relationship New Yorkers have with their waterways. The
team designed their floating pool concept, a plus-shape with four pools in one, and
launched the idea on Facebook.
POOL captured the imagination of the world and the four designers began
working with a variety of partners to understand the feasibility of their ideas. + POOL was
the first civic architecture project to launch through Kickstarter, the leading
crowdsourcing funding platform. Funding from the community supported the feasibility
studies of the + POOL concept and helped build a growing team of engineers, naval
architects and water quality scientists to iterate the design.
In 2015, a small collective of creative thinkers including High Line Cofounder Joshua
David, New Museum Deputy Director Karen Wong, and architect Marc Kushner joined
the four designers to create a nonprofit to realize its vision of free and safe access
to the rivers around NYC for swimming through + POOL. Led by Managing Director
Kara Meyer, the nonprofit designed and launched programs to support its mission
including learn-to-swim programs, environmental education, and water stewardship
initiatives, and led a successful grassroots community-driven effort to demand public
access to our city’s waters through + POOL.
Timeline History of Major Project Milestones
Why a plus-shaped design?
When completed, the plus-shaped floating swimming pool will filter water through its
filtration system cleaning more than 1,000,000 gallons of river water a day without
chemicals or additives. In addition to contributing to the health of New York State’s
waters, + POOL’s design is adaptable; able to be reconfigured for lap swimming,
lounging, watersports, and children’s activities. Each configuration can be used
independently, combined to form an Olympic-length pool, or opened completely into
a 9,000-square-foot pool for play.
About Friends of + POOL
Friends of + POOL was founded in 2015 to build, operate and maintain + POOL,
educate the public on the issues affecting our water quality, and promote water
stewardship. The nonprofit develops educational, recreational, and cultural
programming that enhances the lives of New Yorkers, including learn-to-swim and
environmental education programs. Visit pluspool.com.
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