Amateur Urban Planners Get a Crack at McCarren Pool

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, by Joey

[Photo via robert_ivn/Flickr]

The McCarren Pool situation will always be a lightning rod of controversy in Williamsburg/Greenpoint, which is why we're breaking our strict NO EVENTS posting policy to bring you information on what might be the most important evening in the History. Of. Brooklyn. Tonight, at something called the Swinging 60's Senior Center(!), you—yes, you—will help the Parks Department urban plan the shit out of the pool. From an email making the rounds:

the future of the pool is being planned NOW and this is your chance to be heard!!!! The mayor wants to put in an Olympic size pool, but that leaves lots of room for other stuff! Do you want to rock out? Basketball? Bungee jumping? Rock climbing? All of the above? It could happen if you SPEAK NOW!!!

It's really important that as many people as possible attend this meeting. Think of the hands on city planning fun you will have--and then yrs from now you can look at our pool, and think that you made it happen!

Those who want to rock out, all the haps on exactly what's going down are after the jump (and stay tuned tomorrow for some potential special Curbed coverage). Those who don't care, there's now a little more to hate: the presenting sponsor of this summer's free concert series at McCarren is none other than chief advertecture violator Helio. Bleh.

Community Board #1, TheOpen Space Alliance(OSA), andNYC Department of Parks & Recreation invite you toan open public design and planningsession for McCarren Park Pool improvements:
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2007
5:00 PM & 7:00 PM (two sessions)
SWINGING 60'S SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER
211 AINSLIE STREET
(Corner of Manhattan Avenue)

Rather than simply responding to a Parks Dept proposal, we invite you to participate in creating the design.

The Parks Dept. will give a summary of the schedule for the, and discuss budget considerations. Audience participantswillbreak into small groups, with each table hosted by two facilitators, an independent design professional and a representative fromthe Parks design department, to help sketch and document the ideas of the participants. Each table will have a large scale plan of the pool area, templates of an Olympic size pool, amulti-purpose building, tracing paper, markers, etc.

The charge for the evening will simply be that the designs must:

1) Provide swimming
2) Provide year-round use
3) Preserve and reuse the existing buildings

Other than that, everyone is free to dream (within budget constraints). The recommendations will be synthesized bythe project architects and presented at a follow-up community meeting.

· Bloomberg to Hipsters: Sink or Swim [Curbed]
· 'Burg Hipster Elitists Don't Want to Share McCarren Pool [Curbed]

Filed under Brooklyn: Williamsburg, Urban Planning, Hipsters, Mccarren Pool

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Comments (12 extant)

they should leave it just the way it is
we dont want no stinkin public pool

By six at June 13, 2007 10:01 AM

An arts center / music venue is the way to go here. A huge pool is going to be a mob scene, if the nearby soccer field is any indication. Parks needs to step up a commitment to keep that park tidy and safe - it got pretty beat up last summer.

By Steve at June 13, 2007 10:32 AM

pool pool pool!!!!

By patty cake at June 13, 2007 11:38 AM

Anything but a venue for dirty hipsters to congregate and play their so called music.

By Dude at June 13, 2007 11:43 AM

we need a pool for me and my other 17 family mmebers to hang all day and make your property value shrink and blast merenge as well

viva la mexico in williamsburgh!!!

By jose gomez and family at June 13, 2007 11:55 AM

Pool and public performance venue! it's a pretty sad performance venue in its current state.

By thfs at June 13, 2007 1:16 PM

oye Jose, we mexican hate merengue, de que carajo hablas!!! cumbia! y musidca grupera hasta la muerte cabrooooooooones!!
vayan a chingar a sus madres hipsters de mierda

By jose gomez you're a fake at June 13, 2007 2:13 PM

oye Jose, we mexican hate merengue, de que carajo hablas!!! cumbia y musica grupera hasta la muerte cabrooooooooones!!
vayan a chingar a sus madres hipsters de mierda!!!!!

By Jose Gomez es un fake at June 13, 2007 2:15 PM

Cumbia and merengue both beat the hell out of ranchera music. Accordion all day and all night. Damn I hate it.

By Anonymous at June 13, 2007 6:17 PM

10.

Steve-- what "mobs" are you not fond of, the ones speaking Spanish (& Polish) or the ones listening to fucking Sufjan Stevens their goddamn iPods?

La Bomba

By La Bomba at June 13, 2007 11:20 PM

11.

If you think Helio's NYC advertecture is bad, you should see the sign they have on the Los Angeles skyscraper where they keep their offices. It's visible from 30 miles away.

By Pete at June 14, 2007 5:11 AM

12.

If you couldn't make the pool planning session, you can still give your feedback about the pool design and programming through the following survey:

www.OpenSpaceAllianceNB.org

By Anonymous at August 18, 2007 12:22 AM