elizabeth!

Jackie Robinson Park has the best children’s wading pool area I’ve seen in the city – actually, anywhere! Among many other fun spots, there is a frog whose frame shoots streams of water from several directions, and you can run through this dreamcatcher of delight … even if you are a bit older than eight or nine. Ahem.

Shelley Valfer (tour accountant for the Allman Brothers, Jay-Z, and more…. as well as a great performer in his own right!) and I headed up on the A train to 145th Street, and found the pool immediately – it’s only a block away from the station. How had I missed this before?!

It was just 4pm, so the second shift of swimmers for the day were lined up outside the castle-like entrance to the pool.

Inside, buttresses flew above us, and there was an old-style ticket booth just inside the door. It wasn’t in use, but it sent me back to another era of glamorous movie theaters as I ascended the stairs to the women’s locker room. The hallways were decorated with hand-painted depictions of Jackie Robinson, and a gym and dance studio lay just beyond the walls. It seems that this stately building has gracefully transitioned to modern life.

The pool itself was chaotic, but since it is pretty large, we managed to get some laps in… albeit curving around a moving human obstacle course! The sun disappeared to the west as we swam, so I’d recommend this pool in the morning if you want a sparkling, bright experience. But it was a really nice one even in the shade.

STATUS: 32 down, 3 to go

Liberty pool is situated in Detective Keith L. Williams Park, just south of Jamaica’s main business area.

Jamaica’s main drag, Jamaica Avenue, bustles with shoppers and dawdlers alike. English settlers arrived here in 1655, kicking out the Dutch, who had kicked out the Native Americans. Among the many interesting points along this area’s history is the 1930 opening of the world’s first supermarket, King Kullen.

The pool and park are just down the road from York College. I don’t think they have many visitors… but they do have the nicest changing rooms – real bathroom stalls (without the toilet) that close and lock! The temperature of the water was also perfect!

Part of the pool was roped off; when I asked if I could swim there, I was told that the foundation was cracked and no one was allowed in that part of the pool. I’m not sure how much damage I could have done to myself swimming over there…. but so it was. I stayed on the other side and tried not to get hit by splashing youngsters.

STATUS: 31 down, 4 to go

Central Park needs no introduction. But did you know it has a huge swimming pool in its northeastern corner? Lasker Rink (an ice skating destination in the winter) is crazy and chaotic by day, and a lovely place to swim laps by night.

My friend Jesse Neuman, trumpeter, educator, and the person responsible for bringing me to Ecuador this winter to teach music with his company MUSICWORKS, fabricated this interview for you, dear reader:

I had the distinct pleasure of joining Elizabeth! and her “pool project” (she’s attempting to swim in all of NYC’s public pools in one month). The weather was warm and the sunset pleasantly fuzzy as we slipped into Central Park’s Lasker Rink waters.

Jesse: Wow, it’s warmer than I expected.

Elizabeth: Yeah…I’ve stepped into a few kiddie pools that were even warmer.

J: Yikes…sorry I mentioned it. Is, um, “that” a big issue?

E: My old summer camp had a sign posted in front of the swimming area that read, “Welcom to our ool—notice there is no P in it. Let’s keep it that way.” I wish they would send that handout home with NYC kids on the last day of school.

J: Well, I guess that’s what chlorine is for.

E: You said it! If my hair isn’t bleached green by the end of a swim, I know I need an extra shower.

J: How does this pool compare to the others you’ve visited?

E: Well, it’s hard to compare because time of day, crowdedness, etc. all vary…I’d say 7 for atmosphere, 8 for swimming space, but only a 3 for quality of water.

J: Yeah, it is a little murky down there. When we bumped before I didn’t even see you until it was too late.

E: That wasn’t me.

J: …but you gave me that big smile afterwards…

E: ?

J: Anyways, how are holding up now that you’re almost finished?

E: My arms are tired…and their have been some hallucinations. My boyfriend is about to break up with me, and my trombone embouchure is totally shot. Plus there are the sores… but other than that, I’m good.

J: How many fingers am I holding up right now?

E: None.

J: Wrong, 4. Maybe you should shower off and have some juice.

E: Some of the pools actually do give out free lunch. It was delicious, and full of high fructose corn syrup.

J: Maybe that’s why the water is so murky…

E: Anything is possible.

J: I couldn’t help but notice the eclectic variety of fashionable swimwear the NYC swimming public puts on display…

E: There are body parts I wish I hadn’t seen. Now I cry a little before I got to bed at night.

J: Do you have any suggestions for the NYC Parks Dept.?

E: Yes. Firstly, get your rules straight. Every freakin’ lifeguard has their own set of do’s and don’ts, and they are all drunk with whistle blowing power. Secondly, we need a body mass to swimsuit fabric requirement (at LEAST 3:1). Also, there should be a “no yelling at your kids” zone.

J: What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen during this month at the pools?

E: I swam in a dumpster. That was pretty out. There were some fantastic sunburns too.

J: Do you have any advice for swimmers out there?

E: Yes–there’s no shame in wearing a 1 piece.

STATUS: 30 down, 5 to go

You could easily miss Mullaly Park. I asked the subway ticket booth operator how to get there, and he’d never heard of it. “Ask the cops downstairs,” he said, and sure enough, they pointed me straight there.

The Highbridge section of the Bronx is a bit more well-known for a little sports venue called Yankee Stadium. The McDonald’s just under the 4 train station has an outdoor seating area filled with concrete tables and blue-and-white-striped umbrellas. No one looks askance if your finger is a bit long and made of foam.

But Mullaly Park is named for one of the gentlemen who made it possible, in 1881, for the city to envision and plan for green space as the population of the South Bronx grew. It’s a pretty park, and on the hot afternoon I visited, filled with people riding BMX bikes in the skate park (not a helmet in sight!), playing basketball, or just enjoying time on benches in Yankee Stadium’s shadow.

The pool itself is small, and I had to wait to get in. It was jam-packed with people – probably the 180 it has capacity for – and every single one of them appeared to be screaming. It was like a middle school lunch room. In water.

STATUS: 29 down, 6 to go

Oops, I did it again!

This is a state park and not on the Parks Department list. After visiting twice (2004 and 2010) I have finally realized that the $2.00 fee and different hours indicate that Riverbank State Park is not a Parks & Rec pool! It is very nice, though.

What I should have gone to was Jackie Robinson Park, and so I shall….

But in the meantime, should you find yourself in the possession of $2 and free time in Hamilton Heights, I recommend you swim in this beautiful outdoor pool and perfect-temperature indoor pool right on the Hudson River. This is the only park I know of built on top of a wastewater treatment plant, but don’t let that discourage you. They have gorgeous facilities like a roller rink, football field and track….

….basketball courts, baseball diamond, and of course, the pools.

STATUS: 28 down (plus dumpster and state park), 7 to go