“As another hot and humid summer approaches, exacerbated by the prospect of rising temperatures, we have fewer public swimming pools per capita than any other major US city and 520 miles of coastline. As Paris reclaims its riverbanks for public recreation, here we are sitting in the Big Apple, surrounded by the Hudson, Harlem and East rivers, with no swimming access.”
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Rendering of + POOL, a proposal for a river-based swimming facility in New York’s East River.
In just over a year, one hundred of the world’s best athletes will plunge into the murky waters of the Seine for a 1.5-kilometre swim. After hosting the Olympic Games, the city of Paris plans to open 26 new floating pools—on the Seine— by 2025, four of them right in the center of the city.
This innovative expansion adds to the thousands of Parisians who have been able to bathe in the Bassin de la Villette since 2016, making the French the undisputed world leaders in aquatic urban revitalization.
Meanwhile, as another hot and humid summer approaches in New York City, exacerbated by the prospect of rising temperatureshave fewer public pools per capita than any other major US city and 520 miles of coastline. As Paris reclaims its riverbanks for public recreation, here we sit in the Big Apple, surrounded by the Hudson, Harlem, and East rivers, with no swimming access. Paris, the city of Vélib’ (which predates Citi Bike) and the Promenade Plantée (which predates the High Line), leads the way again; and we are falling behind.
So why can’t we access our rivers for swimming in New York City?
In short, the regulation on public access to our waterways It hasn’t been reviewed in decades. Since then, innovative technologies, advanced engineering, and process controls have been developed that can support safe access to the river.
We have also greatly improved our waterways. As has been reported by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (RIP), New York’s rivers and harbors are their cleanest in years. Average levels of fecal coliforms and Enterococcus have declined dramatically over the last three decades, due in large part to the cessation of raw sewage discharge through full construction of New York City Wastewater Resource Recovery Facilitythe elimination of illegal discharges into the body of water and the reduction of Combined Sewerage Overflows.
At Friends of + POOL, we have reviewed many of the new technologies and advances with scientists and health risk assessors. We have even developed some of our own. But New York City’s current health code does not allow for public access in the waters surrounding Manhattan. And yet, when you compare data from existing bathing beaches collected under the city’s current monitoring practices, the case for river swimming with wet weather advisories is strong.
Since 2021, Friends of + POOL has undergone river swimming errands at a prospective site selected by the New York City Economic Development Corporation that is not currently supported by the existing health code. In 2021, data at the site met recreational water quality thresholds more often than two of the city’s already permitted bathing beaches, according to the Beach Report 2021. In 2022, data at the site met swimming thresholds more frequently than six existing bathing beaches and the 30-day geometric mean was better than 11 beaches currently in operation.
Mayor Eric Adams is in Full support safe swimming in the river. According to City Planning Comprehensive Plan of the Costanera, the City Council has directed city agencies to consider the proposed solutions and develop new standards to allow non-traditional pools and beaches, such as floating pools, to increase access. This leadership is critical given that the city previously relied on the existing code and monitoring practices, which align with federal and state guidelines, but have not yet taken into account the new and creative ways we have advanced in recent years.
There are many ways New York City can lead and, within the City, create safe and conditional access points. When our regulators join cities like Paris to carefully consider how our City Health Code can embrace new technology, robust monitoring, and advanced engineering to safely access rivers for swimming, it will be a gift to all New Yorkers that will last. for generations. .
Let this be the last summer we sweat in the streets! It’s time to reclaim our rivers for swimming. As the great Reverend Al Green says, “take me to the river”.
Kara Meyer is CEO of Friends of + POOL, a nonprofit organization that has been advocating for and designing solutions for safe urban river swimming since 2015.
