The Water Is Fine: Red Hook Pool To Open on Saturday

Hot damn — the Red Hook Pool will open this Saturday.

After the second-straight year of failing to open the swimming hole on time in late June, the Parks Department told Streetsblog that its repairs have been made and the pool will open at 11 a.m. on July 18 — just three weeks late, but two weeks ahead of the initial repair promise.

“I’m so grateful to the Parks employees who worked tirelessly to make these repairs and get Red Hook Pool back open,” Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura said in a statement issued late on Thursday. “We know how important this pool is to the Red Hook community, and we appreciate everyone’s support and patience as we worked to reopen the pool.”

In addition to the pool, adult lap swim will return on July 20, beginning at 7 a.m.

It’s a far cry from last year, when the pool not only failed to open, but remained closed for repairs deep into August. This year’s repairs required the purchase of four new motors after an equipment failure was discovered only two days before the long-planned opening day — a day for which the Parks Department had more than nine months to prepare.

Pools are inspected during the season and once at the end of the season, the Parks Department said. But this year, as last, the damage was only discovered when the pool was being filled just before Opening Day. The agency did not provide any kind of transportation to other Brooklyn pools, which are challenging to get to without a car because of Red Hook’s isolation. It is also one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.

The agency hastened to say that many pools, including Red Hook Pool, are celebrating their 90th birthdays this year.

The only sad thing about the reopening of the pool? It’s expected to rain most of Saturday. But there’s always Sunday.

Red Hook Pool, 155 Bay St. between Clinton and Henry Streets, Brooklyn. Click here for a map. And remember the pool closes between 3 and 4 p.m. every day for cleaning. Bring a lock and a real bathing suit.