This summer is going to be a hot one. Temperatures are going to soar in the northern hemisphere this week, and New York's elected leaders say they are taking it seriously.
Governor Kathy Hochul held a press conference about this week's heat wave last Friday. On Monday morning, New York City mayor Eric Adams did the same. They stressed how important it is for New Yorkers to avoid getting caught outside in hot situations, and to take advantage of what the City and state have at their disposal to keep people cool.
Unfortunately for New Yorkers, one of the most important cooling measures at the City's disposal, its 79 outdoor pools, full of chilly, refreshing water for the people's enjoyment, remain closed. They won't open until June 27.
When asked if the City considered opening pools—many of which are already filled with water and are just waiting for lifeguards to staff them—during this heat wave, Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi said during a Monday afternoon press conference that "there's a lot that goes into filling the pool, making sure the filtration systems work, and making sure they're adequately staffed," and that the City would have to "stick to that schedule." Joshi directed people to the City's beaches and playground sprinklers to keep cool during the upcoming heat wave.
(At the same press conference, when a reporter asked if the City's cooling centers, many located in libraries, would be open on Sunday when it's forecast to be 87 degrees, Deputy Mayor for Communication Fabien Levy chided them, saying their question "doesn't really make sense.")
Joshi's answer makes adds up in the immediate term—you don't want people swimming in untreated water, or for pools to be damaged if they open too quickly. But as the planet warms and heat waves come for New York City earlier and earlier, shouldn't the City begin opening its pools sooner? That's where proposed legislation, introduced this year by Queens Councilmember and Parks Committee chair Shekar Krishnan, would come in handy.
The legislation would have the Parks Department open up its pools on the second Saturday in May and closing them on the second Sunday of each October, to better accommodate our warming planet and our need to cool off. In addition, pool hours would be extended from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The proposed bill had a hearing on March 1, but has not yet moved forward in the City Council, languishing with only five co-sponsors. During the hearing, Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue testified that the legislation would "present very substantial budgetary and operational challenges, especially in light of the existing hiring market and fiscal environment."
The operational challenges that Donoghue refers to is the City's failure to reckon with the union that represents lifeguards, and hire enough lifeguards to patrol the City's beaches and pools, and the budgetary challenges are the Adams administration's austerity budget for the Parks Department.
Still, a longer pool season could end up helping the lifeguard situation—with longer hours and more weeks of work, the City might finally be able to compete with adjacent beaches for lifeguards (beaches at nearby Jones Beach, run by the state, and Riis Park, run by the federal government, remain fully staffed with lifeguards).
It would be nice to use every tool at the City and state's disposal to help keep New Yorkers cool in a rapidly warming environment, but that's a lot to ask of leaders who are committed to just keep turning the temperature dial up, up, up.
