Taking a swim at the Hamilton Fish Pool on the
Lower East Side during the pandemic summer
Hamilton Fish Pool, an aquatic oasis on the Lower East Side.
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
There are still a few more
days of summer to enjoy
the Parks Department
public pools, which are scheduled
to close on Labor Day. Approximately
three pools per borough
opened at the end of July.
The beautiful Olympic-sized,
50-meter Hamilton Fish Pool on
the east end of Houston Street at
Pitt Street draws neighbors from
the Lower East Side and East Village
as well as swimmers from the
PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Village, Upper West and Upper
East Sides.
The head of the lifeguards dutifully
watches while teens play in
the water and lap swimmers cross
the pool.
“This is the only downtown
Parks Department pool in Manhattan
that opened this summer,”
he notes.
What’s also special about this
pool? In years past, Hamilton Fish
Pool — built during the 1930s as
a Works Progress Administration
project — hosts a fi ve-borough
swim competition.
During this summer-thathardly
was because of COVID-19,
outdoor group activities and festivals
were cancelled. The pools’
opening joyfully embraced the
season and offered kids a needed
chance to have hot weather fun.
Hamilton Fish Pool is particularly
Lap swimmers from all over the city find their way to Hamilton
Fish Pool.
family friendly with a very large
two-foot deep children’s pool and
plenty of plastic lounges for sunning.
At noon, most summer days,
a bag lunch was also served.
Frustrated lap swimmers,
stymied by the closing of indoor
pools, found their way to these
Parks’ pools.
Brenda Colling, a regular summer
swimmer at McCarren and
Metropolitan pools in Brooklyn
Lifeguards oversee the relatively quiet Hamilton Fish Pool
on the Lower East Side. After a very cloudy morning, the sun
finally came out.
voices misery when summer came
without swimming options. She
discovered Hamilton Fish Pool
and how easy the commute from
Williamsburg is and she found her
cohorts swimming laps there, too.
Finally able to put in an
18-lap one-mile swim every
morning starting at 11 a.m. and
beaming, she simply says, “It’s
transformative!”
In the pool, one never knows
who you might run into.
(Photo by Tequila Minsky)
Educator, author and competitive
swimmer Dr. Jane Katz waves
to fellow swimmers she knows.
Dr. Katz grew up on the Lower
East Side and learned to swim in
this pool.
During her multi-decade career
in swimming and fi tness, she has
taught swimming to all ages as
well as to teachers who teach
swimming and has authored many
books on the subject. Her book
written 40 years ago, Swimming
for Total Fitness is still available
and selling.
Dr. Katz points to a corner
in the pool facilities building
explaining how her fi rst job and
for many summers, she worked
in the First Aid room at the pool.
A Master Swimmer who
earned the 2019 fastest freestyle
one-mile swim in her age
75-80 category (18 minutes, 42
seconds), Dr. Katz is another
daily swimmer. Among her many
achievements, she introduced
synchronized swimming to the
Olympics, participating in the
Olympic Synchronized Swimming
Performance Team at the
1964 Tokyo Olympics.
“It took 20 years before it became
an actual Olympic sport,”
she says.
One morning last week, Tim
Johnson timed Dr. Katz during a
“virtual” Masters meet/competition
in the category that she won
last year. Lower East Side resident
Ellen Blum swam alongside her
for exercise and training.
“She’s my mentor,” Blum
explains, noting that Dr. Katz
introduced her to long distance
swimming.
(Photo by Tequila Minsky)
As summer winds down, there
are a few more days of outdoor
swimming (just bring a lock, from
11 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed between
3-4 p.m. for cleaning) and then
devotees will be searching for and
hoping for more pools to open.
Parks does not report a
timetable for reopening indoor
recreation centers.
Dr. Katz and Ellen Blum after a mile swim in Hamilton Fish.
“She’s my mentor,” says Blum who learned long-distance
swimming from Dr. Katz.
Master Swimmer, educator
and author Dr. Jane Katz
poses outside Hamilton Fish
Pool, she’s been swimming in
for decades.
Schneps Media September 3, 2020 3