End Of Summer Verdict: McCarren Pool Was Actually Nice, Not A Violent, Poopy Hell Hole
The McCarren Pool had a lot of highs (grand re-opening, filled-to-capacity attendance) and lows (poop, fist fights) over its first summer back in action, and we’ve been here, providing breathless, pearl-clutching coverage of all of it.
Well, as you probably know by now, summer is officially over, and the New York Times has issued its final verdict on the success of the highly scrutinized civic undertaking that was the McCarren Pool: it was pretty good!
As the more rational among you may have predicted, things calmed down after the heat wave broke and initial publicity subsided, and the Times reports that over the holiday weekend, “the line that formed before [Monday’s] morning opening was short, a breeze ruffled the trees and the sun shone gently.”
And, while some wary local neighbors still complained of “foul-mouthed riff raff” being attracted to the neighborhood, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey told the paper, “Maybe word got out that you can’t act like a knucklehead and a jerk and expect to be able to stay there.”
I’d like to think fear-mongering (mine included) played some small role in scaring off the unruly local youth, but maybe the real lesson is that civic engagement and generally good intentions eventually pay off? Something to ponder as the seasons change and we move into this studious, hypothetically productive new season.
