Brooklyn Bridge Park is one step closer to getting a pool.
Park officials announced that they’re applying to dock a brand new floating pool at the yet-to-be-built Pier 5 just north of Atlantic Avenue.
It’s the first talk of the amenity since the city took over the $350-million park last year. But there’s one problem — the park doesn’t yet have the $5-10 million it needs to build out the dock where the pool would moor.
“We look forward to working with elected officials and [the city] to make this amenity a reality,” said Ellen Ryan, a spokeswoman for Brooklyn Bridge Park. “[The park already] hosted a floating pool in the summer of 2007 with great success.”
Success, indeed — the hugely popular “Floating Pool Lady” served almost 50,000 people on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront during the summer of 2007. After that cool summer, a Bronx park got the floating pool.
Luckily, local electeds are already rallying behind the park’s own new amenity, which would be welcome addition to a popular park space that still lacks what park-goers look for — a large array of things to do.
“It is a lot of money, but … a pool is an important amenity,” state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn Heights) told the Daily News, which reported a piece of the story.
A timeline is not yet set for the pool’s construction, assuming that all the paperwork goes through. The build-out of Pier 5 isn’t clear, either — financing is still being lined up for Piers 2 through 5.
That said, park officials have some momentum going in terms of amenities for Piers 1 and 6. They secured funding for a $5-million footbridge from Squibb Park in Brooklyn Heights to the park last year; are currently looking for an operator of a restaurant space on Pier 6; finished the bike path from one end of the park to the other; and plan to build out the rest of Pier 6’s features, including volleyball, this year.
And tetherball, a beloved, iconic city game, is still a go for Pier 2, we’ve confirmed.