The Red Hool Pool, which has been closed all summer thanks to a broken pipe, is expected to reopen on Sunday — if all goes to plan.
Crews discovered the issue as they were filling the pool with water days before it was set to open on June 27. Though the parks department had first hoped to reopen the pool by mid-July, replacement parts would had to be special ordered, extending the closure by a month.
Parks is “targeting” an Aug. 17 reopening, a spokesperson told Brooklyn Paper, though refilling the pool was still “a work in progress” as of Aug 15. If the pool opens on Sunday as planned, Red Hook residents will have just three weeks to use it before pools close for the season on Sept. 7.
The closure, which stretched through several heat waves, left Red Hook residents and local elected officials frustrated. They criticized the parks department for failing to find and address the broken pipe sooner, and said the agency’s suggested alternative — heading to a public pool in Sunset Park or Gowanus — wasn’t enough. In late July, after Comptroller Brad Lander criticized the closure, the department opened the splash pad at the pool, offering some reprieve from the heat.
Two days before the planned reopening, advocates gathered at the pool to celebrate — and demand accountability.
“This reopening is more than just turning the taps back on — it’s restoring a space where neighbors cool off, kids learn to swim, and the whole community comes together,” said Kathy Park Price, director of advocacy and policy at New Yorkers for Parks, in a statement. “We’re happy to see the pool back in use, but this summer’s closure is a reminder that our city must invest more in the ongoing maintenance of our pools and recreation centers before they reach a breaking point.”
A $122 million reconstruction of the pool and the attached Red Hook Recreation Center is in the works, according to the parks department, with design slated to wrap in 2027, and construction likely to begin about a year later, though the project has been delayed several times. The pool and recreation center, like many buildings in Red Hook, were badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and previously-allocated FEMA funding wasn’t enough to fund the needed repairs.
The department’s Capital Projects Tracker previously showed that construction was underway on a separate project to rebuild the pool’s filter plant — including pipes and other fittings — but the page has since been removed from the parks department website.
“I am excited to hear that Red Hook’s only public pool will re-open after being closed throughout most of the summer,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, in a statement. “I’m sympathetic to the unexpected challenges that arise from maintaining dilapidated infrastructure, but this was a clear example of the consequences of years of disinvestment that Red Hook is forced to deal with. This was the latest in a long list of wake up calls that Red Hook deserves proper attention to proactively address these issues before they become a crisis for the community.”
Mike Racioppo, district manager of Brooklyn Community Board 6, said the board will continue to push for more.
“Good news, even when it comes late, is still good news, especially when it is the result of collective community action,” he said in a statement. “The Red Hook Pool, like all public pools, is a vital resource. We will continue to advocate not only for on-time openings, but also for longer hours and an extended season so more people can enjoy them.”
Some locals, like Alan Mukamal, founder of Friends of Red Hook Pool, are also hoping for more programs at the pool, and more community involvement in the reconstruction. A long time Red Hook resident, Mukamal told Brooklyn Paper last month that he wants to see longer pool hours, more programming like lap swim and swim classes, and more.
“When I learned on the day the Red Hook Pool was set to open, that a burst pipe would keep it shut down most of the summer, it was beyond disappointing,” Mukamal said at the Aug. 15 press conference. “It meant that thousands of residents would have to sweat out the summer of 2025 with no cooling relief from the pool. It meant that scores of Red Hook youth would not have an opportunity to learn to swim this year. It meant that swimmers would have to look elsewhere to fulfill their need for fitness and emotional well-being. It is fitting that the pool will finally open on August 17, the same day in 1936 when the pool originally opened to a crowd of nearly 40,000 people!”
