Summer Guide 2008 - Navigating the City's Pools -- New York Magazine

Off the Deep End

If You Want to Play Marco Polo...

Kosciuszko Pool
Marcy Ave. at DeKalb Ave., Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; 718-622-5271
Cost: Free
It’s like a kiddie-land version of Studio 54 when the flock of children and teens line up around the block for the split shifts. There’s no shade, either, so pack extra sunblock or take time-outs in nearby Herbert Von King Park.

(Photo: Daniel Avila/NYC Parks & Recreation)

Hamilton Fish Recreation Center
128 Pitt Street, at Houston St.; 212-387-7687
Cost: Free
Summertime in Loisaida brings out the neighborhood's knobby-kneed crowd, ready to splish-splash their afternoons away. But take note: Besides a swimsuit, the only clothing allowed inside the pool gates is a plain white tee—and they mean it.

Riverbank State Park
Riverside Dr. at 145th St.; 212-694-3600
Cost: $2, $1 for children 5-15, free for children under 5
Uptown locals enjoy a casual family splash in either the Olympic-size indoor pool or (beginning on the Fourth of July) the six-lane alfresco option.

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