Mayor Mamdani Kicks Off Outdoor Pool Season, Celebrates 90 Years of Public Pools with Free Swimming for New Yorkers

 

City’s free outdoor public pools are open daily through Sept. 13

 

Popular adult lap swim program expands from five to 10 pools, available five days a week

 

Free Learn to Swim classes expand from 10 to 18 pools, creating slots for 16,000 New Yorkers ages 18 months to 17 years   

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura yesterday joined local families to jump into the Thomas Jefferson Pool in East Harlem and celebrate the opening of the 2026 outdoor pool season. This summer also marks the 90th anniversary of the City’s 11 Olympic-sized public pools built through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), with expanded swim programming bringing even more New Yorkers into the water.

“There’s a reason outdoor pool opening day is marked with fanfare every year: our public pools are beloved places to cool off on hot days, make memories with friends and learn the lifelong skill of swimming,” said Mayor Mamdani. “Ninety years ago, our City opened 11 massive Olympic-sized outdoor public pools to provide safe recreation for working New Yorkers. That legacy reminds us what government can achieve when it invests in great public works projects. I’m proud to be one of the more than a million New Yorkers who will enjoy our pools this summer and hope our neighbors are ready to pack their swimsuits and jump in!”

“It’s time for families to put on their swimsuits, dig up their goggles and pack their towels for a day at the pool, because summer is here in New York City!” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson. “There’s no better way to cool off in the sun than to take a dip in one of our many outdoor pools that are now open for New Yorkers to enjoy. Thank you to the Parks workers and lifeguards who make our parks and pools possible every day.”

“Our outdoor pools are synonymous with summer in New York City. They’re where children first learn to swim, and where New Yorkers can go to beat the heat, stay fit and connect with each other, all for free,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura. “We’re thrilled to kick off another season at our outdoor pools and to provide even more New Yorkers with essential water safety skills and fitness opportunities thanks to expanded programming. We’re also celebrating the 90th anniversary of our WPA-era pools, shining examples of how incredible public works can serve New Yorkers, generation after generation.”

This summer, NYC Parks is expanding its popular adult lap swim program from five to 10 pools — two in each borough. Lap swim will be available Monday through Friday from 7 to 8:30 a.m., giving fitness-minded New Yorkers dedicated time in the water before the pools open for general swimming. Participating pools include Claremont and Van Cortlandt in the Bronx; Kosciuszko and McCarren in Brooklyn; Gottesman and Hamilton Fish in Manhattan; Astoria and Liberty in Queens; and Faber and Lyons on Staten Island.

Senior Splash also returns this summer to five outdoor pools, one in each borough, offering free water aerobics classes for New Yorkers 62 and older. Classes will be held three days a week at Astoria, Lyons, Sunset Park, Thomas Jefferson and Van Cortlandt pools.

Earlier this month, Mayor Mamdani and Commissioner Shimamura announced the expansion of free summer Learn to Swim classes from 10 to 18 outdoor pools, creating more than 16,000 class slots. The program provides free swim lessons for children ages 18 months to 17 years, saving families hundreds of dollars while helping young New Yorkers build lifelong water safety skills. Registration is open now.

More information on swim programming is available on the Parks website. Summer aquatics programs run from July 6 through Aug. 28.

About NYC Parks Outdoor Pools

The City’s free outdoor pools are open daily from June 27 through Sept. 13. Mini pools will close Sept.7.

Pools are open from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. daily, with a break for cleaning from 3 to 4 p.m. Admission is free and open to all. Visitors should bring a swimsuit, towel and a sturdy lock for locker room storage. Free sunscreen is available at every outdoor pool.

NYC Parks will again partner with the Department of Education to provide free lunches at pool sites across the city. Meals are available to all New Yorkers 18 and younger, with no identification or registration required.

Visit the Parks Outdoor Pools page for more information and explore the Cool It! NYC map to find pools, spray showers, drinking fountains and other cooling resources across the five boroughs.

About the 90th Anniversary of WPA-era Pools

This summer, NYC Parks is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the city’s WPA-era pools.

In 1936, 11 Olympic-sized outdoor pools were opened within weeks of one another as part of one of the largest public works projects in city history, funded through the federal WPA. At the time, they represented some of the most advanced public recreational facilities in the country, featuring state-of-the-art design, filtration and chlorination.

To celebrate the milestone, NYC Parks will distribute commemorative towels and collectible buttons that depict the distinctive design of each pool. The first 200 guests on each pool's anniversary date will receive the items.

The 11 WPA-era pools include:  

• Astoria Pool, Queens: Opened July 2, 1936, Astoria remains New York City’s largest pool and hosted the U.S. Olympic Swim and Diving Team Trials in 1936 and 1964. 
• Betsy Head Pool, Brooklyn: Opened Aug. 6, 1936, replacing a pool at dating to 1915. Before 1936, it was one of only two outdoor pools in the Parks system. 
• Crotona Pool, the Bronx: Opened July 24, 1936. Its bathhouse features WPA-era animal sculptures created by Frederick George Richard Roth that remain visible today.
• Hamilton Fish Pool, Manhattan: Opened June 24, 1936. The U.S. Olympic Team trained here before the 1952 Helsinki Games. 
• Highbridge Pool, Manhattan: Opened July 14, 1936, adjacent to the historic High Bridge Water Tower on the site of the former High Bridge Reservoir. 
• Jackie Robinson Pool, Manhattan: Opened Aug. 8, 1936, as “Colonial Park Pool.” The dedication ceremony featured Bill “Bojangles” Robinson performing “Battle Hymn of the Republic” before a crowd of 25,000. 
• Joseph H. Lyons Pool, Staten Island: Opened July 7, 1936. At the dedication, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia called the facility “a monument to the progressive government which would not and could not see unemployed men on the breadline.” 
• McCarren Pool, Brooklyn: Opened July 31, 1936. Designed to accommodate 6,800 bathers at once, its bathhouse remains one of the largest in the Parks system.
• Red Hook Pool, Brooklyn: Opened Aug. 17, 1936, before a crowd of 40,000. The New York Times called it “Red Hook's event of the year.” 
• Sunset Park Pool, Brooklyn: Opened July 20, 1936, when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia dramatically switched on the pool’s underwater lighting system. 
• Thomas Jefferson Pool, Manhattan: Opened June 27, 1936, before approximately 10,000 people who gathered to celebrate what was described as “the last word in engineering, hygiene and construction.”