Astoria Pool (NYC Parks)
April 16, 2020 By Christian Murray
New York City’s public pools will be be shut this summer.
Mayor Bill de Blasio made the announcement at a press briefing this morning when he also warned that beaches may close too.
The city operates more than 50 outdoor pools, including seven in Queens. The mayor said the pools need to remain closed to curb the transmission of the coronavirus. He said that the city will continue to stop large gatherings and ensure people are following social distancing guidelines.
The pools are typically open from the end of June—after public school closes for the year—through to Labor Day.
The pool closures are expected to save the city $12 million.
The city is making big cuts to the budget, as tax revenue has plummeted.
Council Member Costa Constantinides, whose district includes the public pool at Astoria Park, said the mayor made the right decision.
“Mayor de Blasio’s decision to close our public pools was no doubt a difficult but necessary decision to flatten the curve,” Constantinides said. “Challenging times require tough decisions.”
Constantinides, however, notes that the closure of the pools will see the loss of seasonal jobs, often taken by teenagers. He is calling on the mayor to find other ways to keep younger residents employed and engaged.
“The city must come up with a plan to provide our youngest New Yorkers with quality programming that keeps them safe, engaged and healthy,” Constantinides said. “I am ready to work with the administration to find a constructive solution to this.”
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2 Comments
Where are our tests kits already? Ones that work? Ones that we don’t have to pay for? All these numbers the media keeps siting are BS without testing. This mayor is a giant big bird clown that nobody respects on either side of the aisle. This is not our fault. The government has failed us. This is their fault. We are paying for THEIR mismanagement. Their mistakes. We will keep paying until they have tests and people decide their personal freedoms regarding the spread of this virus are less important than the fight to curtail it. And what then, can we honestly trust this ‘terms and conditions’ government to NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE of us then?
We are on our way to a never ending needless loss of life. It’s looking like we are all going to have to get COVID-19 at some point, while the mayor tries to figure out whether to still have St Patrick’s day parade – Or whether we need masks. My head is spinning with their wack-a-mole response. At some point, people will stop doing anything they are told.
Good job Mr. Mayor, stick it to the low income kids.
Why don’t you re institute alternate side of the street parking to bring in the $1million a day to finance the opening of pools/recreation centers and internships for low income kids.