Pool season has begun in New York City, but for cyclists trying to visit the brand new Gottesman Pool in Central Park, things are still not great.
The pool is located in the $160-million Davis Center, which made headlines (in Streetsblog) back in May for its lack of safe and accessible bike parking. At an event marking the beginning of pool season on Thursday, elected officials praised the new pool as an oasis for residents without the means to leave the city during the hot summer months.
"For many families who don’t get out of the city, this is our Hamptons, this is our Martha’s Vineyard," said Harlem State Senator Cordell Cleare.
But this important asset to the neighborhood largely ignores cyclists, even though it is situated inside Central Park, which is not only a beloved place to bike, but is also car-free, of course.
The center, which is run by the Central Park Conservancy – the nonprofit organization that manages most of Central Park – initially installed bike racks at the end of that tricky downhill zig-zag on the East Drive north of 106th Street. To access the bike racks, cyclists would have to dismount at top speeds, and then would be in harm's way as other cyclists passed. And cyclists entering from Harlem would have to salmon uphill to access the racks.
As such, the Conservancy covered the racks until it could come up with a better solution. Streetsblog's Sophia Lebowitz observed the "solution" on Thursday: there are now racks on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and Malcolm X Boulevard, but those are outside the park.
And there's also a temporary rack at the bottom of the hill that is impossible to even lock your bike to. Besides, it's already been commandeered by a bike rental company.
It's better than nothing, but Harlem cyclists deserve better.
On the plus side, all city pools open for the season today at 11 a.m. Remember to bring a lock and a real bathing suit — and that the pools close between 3 and 4 p.m. for cleaning.
In other news:
- The man who frequently says we have to cool down the rhetoric promptly re-booted his mayoral campaign by ... heating up the rhetoric against presumptive Mayor Zohran Mamdani. (NYDN, NY Post)
- Hell Gate called the reboot "shambolic."
- President Trump's border czar isn't helping cool things off, either (NY Post), nor are his pals on the MAGA right. (NY Times)
- The Queens bus redesign is here! The Queens bus redesign is here! (NYDN)
- The city's effort to put the "park" back in Park Avenue moved forward with the naming of the landscape architecture firm Starr Whitehouse. (NYDN, amNY)
- Former City Council Member Ken Fisher offered a rambling look at the "public realm" and who owns it. (amNY)
- In Bloomberg, John Surico looked at Central Park's effort to be all things to all people.
- Adult lap swimming at only five pools citywide?! And for only three days a week?! And only for 90 minutes?! (Gothamist and Hell Gate)
- And, finally, we would be remiss if we didn't congratulate Albany correspondent (our first!) Amy Sohn for a job well done over the last seven weeks of the legislative session. We know we'll lose her to a bigger outlet now that the legislature has hung up the "Gone Fishing" sign, but there'll always be a little piece of her in the Capitol press room, as seen in this skeet:
