Massive NYC pool shuttered for repairs – for second year in a row – amid extreme heat wave

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One of the city’s largest pools will be closed during this week’s scorching heat wave and for most of next month because of “unforeseen” mechanical issues – the second straight year the aging community “lifeline” has suffered a shutdown.

The popular Red Hook Pool, among five Olympic-sized tubs in Brooklyn, did not open to the public during the citywide outdoor pool opening day Saturday “due to the sudden, unforeseen failure of mechanical equipment,” city Parks Department reps said.

The nearly century-old summer oasis won’t be open for most of July, either, joining several pools citywide that remain closed at the onset of the season, the department said.

Among the other shut city pools is the supposed back-up that Red Hook families are being directed to on the NYC Parks’ website as an alternative to their own closed site.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Red Hook mom Karin-Jolie Rosado. “We waited all year for this.

“It was closed last summer, and then this summer there are still issues,” she said of the local pool. “They should have resolved the issues by now.”

Her 8-year-old daughter Loretta said, “It’s really sad because we don’t have anywhere else to swim.”

The opening of Red Hook’s 90-year-old pool complex was delayed until August last year because of a broken decades-old pipe, according to The City Reporter.

This year’s delay was blamed on a flooded filter plant beneath the pool, which damaged motors and other equipment, a Parks rep said — adding that the discovery was only made four days before opening day.

“This could’ve been avoided,” said Adam Ganser, executive director of the advocacy group New Yorkers For Parks, who called the matter “at its purest form, a staffing issue.”

The policy group noted that an estimated 50 plumbers on Parks’ payroll is far below the number needed to maintain the city’s 1,700 parks and playgrounds.

The group is now renewing calls for the agency to fund an additional 150 tradespeople to keep up with its aging infrastructure.

Ganser called the pool a “lifeline” for city dwellers, especially ahead of the summer’s first “heat dome” situation and triple-digit temperatures expected later this week.

“The water is something that gives the kids a safe activity to do during a heat wave,” Rosado said. “Otherwise, they are stuck at home.”

The pool is one of several sites closed for unplanned maintenance as of Tuesday afternoon, Parks said, while two other pools are under construction for long-term capital improvements.

Claremont Pool in The Bronx is shuttered because of mechanical issues, and the Doulgass and DeGraw Pool in Gowanus – the city-touted Red Hook Pool alternative – is also closed because of a “category 2 water quality issue.”

“Pools generally experience temporary closures for a variety of reasons: mechanical, sanitary, weather, etc.,” a Parks rep told The Post.

“Many of our pools are celebrating their 90th year in use this season, including Red Hook Pool,” the rep said, noting that, “to ensure that Red Hook Pool can continue to serve New Yorkers for generations,” the site has been earmarked for a $122 million renovation project set to begin in 2028.

Aside from 53 free outdoor pools, the Parks system also touts an array of splash pads to beat the summer heat.

But the cooling features are facing “outages” in record numbers, a Post investigation recently found, with Parks reps blaming last winter’s severe weather combined with “very few staff resources for repairs.” 

The news comes as the city’s new budget paves the way for a new Parks “Renew Crew” pilot program — which is funded through 2027 — set to make “quick targeted improvements” for playgrounds, courts, fields and other green spaces.

Still, Ganser argues the city must still invest in full-time tradespeople to keep the city’s green spaces up and running.

“A lot of this is highly sophisticated mechanical equipment or plumbing, and you need professionals on staff to ensure that everything is is is in good, operable condition,” Ganser said.

“This begs a larger question, which is why doesn’t the agency have the staffing it needs to take care of these issues, which are occurring every single year.”