The misery of 2020 couldn’t even take a break to make way for the much-awaited limited opening of the city’s public pool system Friday, as thunderstorms passing through the Big Apple kept swimmers out of the water for much of the day.
At the Parks Department’s outdoor pool in Sunset Park, the lightning forced officials to keep the water clear until shortly before 2 pm.
“We’ve just waited for a whole year,” said teenager Christopher Lopez, who told The Post he’d been waiting with two pals since 9 am to hop in.
“We’ll do whatever it takes just to go in,” added Lopez, for whom the pool is no stupid love. “Hopefully, it can open in a bit, we’re just [looking to] have a fun time.”
“We really just have to do something fun for 2020, you know? 2020’s been a disaster,” he continued.
The Brooklyn facility was one of eight public pools slated to reopen on Friday, while another seven pools are set to reopen next week.
“They’re doing their best and I think it’s great that they’re opening at all,” said mom Andrea Janes, who held daughter Alise in her arms. “We didn’t expect them to open this summer, so we’re just happy to get any pool time that we can.”
However, the bulk of the city’s 53 public pools will remain closed for the summer as the coronavirus pandemic and resulting budget crunch delayed and complicated annual lifeguard training.
Additional reporting by Isabelle Friedberg
