There are 91 pools distributed across 64 locations in NYC that are maintained by Parks – 79 outdoor and 12 indoor swimming pools dispersed throughout the five boroughs.

The most common types of pool are intermediate sized (28) and wading (24) pools. They make up about 31% and 26%, respectively, of all pools. Less common pools are olympic (15), large (5), and diving (4) pools.

Parks pools vary greatly in size. Mini Pools are the smallest at 40′ x 20′ and 3 feet deep. Wading Pools can be as small as 24′ x 24′ and 1 foot deep to 220′ x 92′ and 2.5 feet deep. Large Pools are ~100′ x ~50′ and 4 feet deep. Olympic Pools are >200′ x >100′ and around 4 feet deep. Diving Pools come in many sizes, but are at least 8′ deep.

Manhattan has the most pools (21 pools) and Staten Island the least (7 pools). Manhattan also has the overall best access to pools – 65% of Manhattan residents are able to walk to a pool in 15 minutes or less – and Queens has the worst access to pools – only 12% of residents are able to walk to a pool in 15 minutes or less.

We know that access to a pool nearby varies greatly depending on neighborhood, and there is currently introduced legislation seeking to identify city-owned sites where additional public swimming pools could be built. The legislation focuses on Environmental Justice (EJ) Communities. Though significant effort is required to survey the sites to understand if a given location could house a pool – we can at least identify which sites would be useful locations for a pool.

The below map shows in grey all the EJ Communities that don’t already fall within a 15 minute walk of a pool. We’ve added points representing city-owned land that is currently categorized as “no use” within that zone. For each “no use” land location on the map, we’ve found the population within a 15 minute walk who don’t already have an existing pool within a 15 minute walk. This captures the potential population that could be served from each location. A high number shows both a high population density and that the neighborhood doesn’t already have access to a pool – the ideal location to site a new pool.

By default the map only shows “no use” locations that would give more than 100,000 people new access to a pool, which highlights several neighborhoods that immediately pop out as having “no use” city-owned land, a high population density and low access to a pool. In the Bronx, Fordham Heights has 13 city-owned “no use” locations that meet the criteria. In Queens, Elmhurst and Corona stand out with 18 locations. In Brooklyn, Little Caribbean in Flatbush has 9 locations and Borough Park has 4 locations. Manhattan and Staten Island don’t have any locations that meet that criteria.

The “no use” city land locations shown on the map can be adjusted in the upper right hand corner of the map to show locations with smaller reach. You can click on each point to get more information about the site, including: the owner agency, the parcel name, the more specific use (eg “vacant land”, “no use – non residential structure”, etc), and the approximate number of people within a 15 minute walk who don’t currently have pool access.