Manhattan

New York plans to put a floating pool in the East River

The pool will be located at Pier 35 near Manhattan's Lower East Side.

There will soon be a new filtered floating pool in New York City waters.

The pool will be located at Pier 35 near Manhattan's Lower East Side. But, before that, the city is partnering with the state to jointly fund a water filtration demonstration project at Pier 35 starting this August to help ensure this model can safely provide swimming access for New Yorkers. 

“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 Eric Adams.

“Through innovative solutions like + POOL, we are providing children and their families with safe spaces to swim in New York City,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul. “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.” 

What will be the process before installing the floating pool?

In January 2024, Adams and Hochul announced that New York City and New York state would collaborate on launching + POOL, a state-of-the-art swimming facility that, after fulfilling health and safety requirements, would float in the waters surrounding New York City. The city and state are jointly funding the first round of + POOL’s demonstration project starting this August to provide the data needed to develop New York City’s first water-filtering floating swimming pool. 

The filtration demonstration project at Pier 35, starting this August, as well as a final testing in 2025, will help ensure this innovative model can safely provide swimming access for New Yorkers.

Testing will assess water quality and help evaluate the additional requirements recently detailed by New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s protocol for non-traditional recreational water projects and the New York state Department of Health’s framework for novel bathing facilities.   

If everything goes well, the pool will be open in 2025.

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