The city’s $50-million plan to convert Greenpoint’s decaying McCarren Park pool from a dingy concert venue into, well, a pool is still on track — minus the proposed diving area.
Budget constraints have forced the Parks Department to nix plans for a 12-foot-deep diving pool — estimated to cost an extra $5 million — from the rehab of the landmarked Robert Moses swim center, officials told Community Board 1 on Feb. 10.
“We tried very hard to keep the diving pool in, but when we crunched the numbers there was no way,” said Marty Maher, chief of staff for Brooklyn parks.
The diving pool will be replaced with a patch of sand and volleyball nets, which will be just one new component in the far-reaching plan to turn the underused facility into a 54,000-square-foot pool, a year-round community center with gym space and recreational rooms, and space for off-season activities like ice skating.
North Brooklyn residents who long fought for the pool consider the city’s plan a victory.
“After 20 years struggling to get this pool open, it’s gratifying to see this happen,” said Beth Goldowitz.
Construction, which is scheduled to take two years, could begin this summer.
