McCarren Park Pool

I really enjoy McCarren Pool, the only complaint I have and many of the patrons as well is that they do not supply enough lounge chairs. There is plenty of room around the pool area to add chairs and every year there are less chairs. They only offer around 15 chairs for the entire pool area which is a disgrace and some of them are broken.

Ever wondered what tumbleweeds would look like moving underwater? Look no further. McCarren Park Pool has a whole ecosystem of tumbleweeds and all you need are goggles to look in awe at this natural extraordinary occurrence. Beautiful bulbous structures meandering on the bottom of the pool. If you get lucky a smaller one might swim up to you and give you a face hug while unsuspectingly trying to sneak into your mouth. Sometimes they like to dress you up, wrapping themselves around your arms, legs, neck.....or where they deem you need extra glamour to look like Harry from the Hendersons. You didn't expect me to bring you back to your childhood now, did you? 

If you're a fan of microbiology, oh man do I have great news for you! All you need to do is hang out at the corner edges of the pool to play a guessing game of: Will this algae give me a rash? Will this make me blind? Will I grow a wart on my nose?

I haven't seen a pool this gross in ages. Cleaning seems to be an abstract concept at this facility. I would suggest avoiding the place for 2 days if someone poops in the water.

The pool is great I wish they would allow more public access. But the reason why this doesnt have 5 stars is because some dude in the first session proceeded to do whatever yoga or stretches he was doing. Mind you he has speedo underwear. The dude literally does some move that looks like the picture below I swear I never seen anyone bend like that.
Unfortunately it was pretty gruesome to see a middle aged man twisting like a pretzel with his head nearly up his arse. My problem was that no one said anything.

* This review is for the pool only *

Came here with a friend on a Wednesday afternoon and enjoyed our time!

Pros:
- Centrally located in Williamsburg and easy to get to with public transport
- Huge pool with very clean water
- Facilities are OK, a little grimy but standard for public facilities with lots of traffic
- No lines during weekdays, but I'm sure it's crazy during weekends

Note: The description on https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mccarren-park/facilities/outdoor-pools/mccarren-park-pool does not convey how STRICT the rules are here.
- You must bring a combination lock in order to enter the premises. They have 2 people at the entrance who scan your belongings and make sure you have a lock.
- You must place ALL your electronics/valuables in a locker. Any bags and phones are NOT permitted and you can only hand carry basic essentials such as a towel, sunscreen, books, and water bottle onto the pool grounds.
- They have eagle-eyed staff checking every entry point and they do not f*k around. Be nice to them, and they are nice back.
- Beach lounge chairs are limited and they go quick
- There is very little shade around the pool and you are not allowed to bring sun umbrellas or chairs, so a hat would be the best option. You are not allowed to lay in the little shade underneath or around the lifeguard chairs
- They have a huge container of complimentary 30SPF sunscreen but yesterday it was all out.
- The website says there's a daily "break for pool cleaning between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m." but we got kicked out at 2:35 PM so it's not exactly 3 PM.

As long as you follow the rules you will have a great time!

Great experience. I arrived right before doors opened at 11am. The line was around the block but as soon as doors opened the line was gone and everyone went in. The view is phenomenal of the city around the pool. Pool is gorgeous and locker rooms, bathrooms and pool are clean and relatively new. The people(friendly) and staff (helpful)had a great vibe.

Great pool however wish they would have adult/ senior water aerobics. The pool is beautiful and clean.

Come here every year , this pool is very clean and safe , lines can be long !! me and my family always enjoy ourseleves! Phones are not allowed by the pool

Do not come here. These people treat you like inmates in a jail. Can't have a phone, can't wear this, can't do this, must have a lock etc. Its ridiculous. A girl screaming into a megaphone at the people waiting in line. Doesn't exactly set the tone for a pleasant day with your family at the pool. Then then told me my cover up dress was not a cover up and insisted it was just a dress instead. This was a plain cotton loose fitting tank dress with spaghetti straps, they acted like I had on jeans or a ballgown and heels and insisting it was pool wear. With no guide as to what constitutes a cover up vs a dress, apparently these people also moonlight as fashion experts. We ended up leaving. These people take their jobs way too seriously. You give these folks a polyester shirt and a nametag and now they got a god complex. Absolutely ridiculous. Save your time and go somewhere else where they know how to treat people like human beings.

Edited: I read today in the news that a little boy almost drowned and the life guards didn't do squat. The child was floating face down and a bystander had to jump in save him. This was shortly after we left. Maybe if these people were more focused on doing their jobs and keeping people safe instead of harassing people over fabric, you wouldn't have children almost dying. This place is the seventh circle of hell. You'll have more fun playing in fire hydrant water than at this place.

Today I had Three punk male rude locker room attendances Tell me my shorts were Not shorts- LOL I had swimming trunks on! (With a swimming liner on the inside) and there were men in there with tighter Shorts on than mine.
I think they were being homophobic bullies. -When I told him I was going to tell staff - and that I had felt like I was being bullied -they laughed and told me
"I don't care who you tell- you're lucky I let you in at all"
??Whatever that means!
Obviously they don't care about any repercussions-
Very low quality attitude and attentiveness and obviously a severe Lack of training.
I've been going there for years and I've never been treated this way-
Negative stars given

I frequented this pool several times over the summer of 2015 I think for their adult swimming lessons via the NYC Parks Dept website. The pool was huge and appeared clean. The staff were okay whenever I went. They stress and watch you like a hawk to make sure you have a locker for your personal belongings. The locker rooms were big and clean and you were always able to find a locker. They had showers and areas to get dressed.

Thankfully the times that I went it was closed to the public to give more one on one to students learning to swim or to participate in an aquatic exercise group. Unfortunately I didnt learn how to independently and confidently learn how to swim at this wonderful pool. I am still a work in progress but I would definitely return here to chill in the pool and do my own thing.