On Tuesday, July 3, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn celebrated the opening of the Floating Pool at Brooklyn Bridge Park Beach by jumping in the 25-meter, 7-lane swimming pool, which is on top of a barge—the Floating Pool Lady—moored in the East River. Accompanying the free public pool, which will be docked at the park for three months, is a 45,000 sq. ft. sand-filled beach.

Also joining in the fun were Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Councilman David Yassky, President of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy Marianna Koval, Co-Chair of the Empire State Development Corporation Pat Foye, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, and  Co-Founder of the Neptune Foundation Ann Buttenwieser.

“This marks another milestone in the truly remarkable transformation of our waterfront into a publicly accessible, dynamic asset for our borough and for New York City,” said Borough President Markowitz. “Like most Brooklynites, I ‘summer’ in Brooklyn—and the Floating Pool at Brooklyn Bridge Park Beach is one more reason that you don’t ever have to leave our borough!”

Borough President Markowitz provided funding for the pool, as did Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilmember David Yassky. A free shuttle service is provided by the Downtown Brooklyn Waterfront Local Development Corporation with funding by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. The Floating Pool at Brooklyn Bridge Park Beach is a partnership between the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, the Neptune Foundation, the State of New York through the Empire State Development Corporation, and the City of New York.