The Floating Pool

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Dubbed the Floating Pool Lady after the nickname its founder was given at community-board meetings during its approval process (as in “Here comes the floating-pool lady”), this swimming-pool-on-a-barge made its way north from Brooklyn Heights, where it first docked in 2007, to the edge of Barretto Point Park on the East River, where it’s scheduled to be parked every summer through 2010. The views aren’t exactly picturesque: The skyline is occasionally visible through the haze, but the pool’s location mostly affords those relaxing on deck chairs on its elevated deck a view of the Triborough Bridge and Rikers Island beyond the steel railings. Not that the local kids care much about the scenery. They’re too consumed with splashing around in the neighborhood’s only public pool, which has 7 lanes and a 170-person capacity, plus lifeguards, lockers, showers, and all the amenities of a land-based pool. Swimmers should take note, though: The relatively small size means that lines to get in can be quite long. — Randi Eichenbaum

During the pool’s season, a city-operated shuttle bus runs from Prospect Avenue and Westchester Avenue to Barretto Point Park, making stops at various points in the neighborhood along the way.

Free Swimming Lessons
Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m.–11 a.m., for kids between the ages of 1˝ and 16.