Capital New York

TWGIlbert commented on Respite, and a little roughhousing, on the opening weekend of McCarren Park Pool

I am exasperated to hear and read repeatedly that there was ever a consensus in the Greeenpoint/W'burg community to close (or not to renovate) the pool. Sure, a few people felt that way, but the point is they got nowhere. Back in the late 70s/early 80s the community united behind a quite innovative and intelligent plan to transform a 1930s-era unmanageable dinosaur that was open for 2 months a year into a multipurpose facility (including basketball courts, classrooms, performance space, a smaller pool) that would have attracted these same supposedly feared youth for 12 months a year. 100% backed by the Community Board and our local pols, and fully funded, this plan was derailed by the protests -- not of "racists" -- but of preservationists who opposed demolishing the big brick bathhouses and played the race card out of desperation. The fact that my kids were born in Greenpoint, raised here and have now grown up and left without ever enjoying the McCarren pool is on THEM -- Longtime Greenpointer

Posted on July 5th, 2012 2:51pm