A dried up diving pool in Tremont has been reborn as a new city sprinkler.
Crotona Pool’s deck is now home to a $1.6 million “spray shower,” the Parks Department’s crown jewel as the 55 public pools citywide, including nine in the Bronx, open for another scorching summer season.
New Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver joined city officials in Crotona Park on Fri. June 27 to cut the ribbon for the new sprinkler, which was funded by the mayor’s office.
Time for a swim
The new Parks head honcho also extolled the virtues of getting the family together for a dip.
“City pools provide free summer fun for the entire family,” crowed Silver, a native of Brooklyn. “Swimming is a great form of recreation, but for many it is also a survival skill, a competitive sport, and a lifetime passport to health and fitness.”
Crotona Park’s new sprinkler is located at the site of its former diving pool, which had sat dormant for three decades. The spray shower is designed after the sun, with yellow rays etched into the pavement.
The sprinkler also has different settings and varieties of water blasts, allowing young revelers to choose their own spray experience.
Like all of the city’s parks, Crotona’s new sprinkler is open to the public seven days a week, from 11 am to 3 pm, and from 4 pm to 7 pm, until it closes for the season on Labor Day, Sept. 1.
Visitors must wear swimsuits in order to enter a public pool, and only white shirts are allowed on the deck. Food, glass bottles, newspapers, and electronic devices are banned from public pools. The city also suggests bringing a combination lock to secure your belongings during your dip.
Check out a free public pool in the Bronx:
Bronx River Playground Pool
(E. 174th Street & Bronx River Avenue)
Claremont Pool
(170th Street and Clay Avenue)
Crotona Pool
(173rd Street and Fulton Avenue)
Edenwald Houses Pool
(Schieffelin Avenue & E. 229th Street)
Floating Pool
(Tiffany Street & Viele Avenue)
Haffen Pool
(Ely and Burke Avenues)
Mapes Pool
(E. 180th Street between Mapes & Prospect Avenues)
Mullaly Pool
(E. 164th St. bet. Jerome & River Aves.)
Van Cortlandt Pool
(W. 242nd St. and Broadway)
