CM Ariola and Local Leaders Call for a Pool at FBF

Councilwoman Joann Ariola penned a letter to the Jamaica Bay Rockaway Parks Conservancy on June 24, requesting that the Conservancy include an Olympic-sized swimming pool in any plans they create to activate Floyd Bennett Field and transform the area into “a hub for recreation, education, workforce development, community and coastal resilience.”

The Councilwoman has joined with a unified body of voices from throughout the area calling for a pool to be placed at the location, in order to improve swim safety and provide new, year-round opportunities for local residents.

“A pool at Floyd Bennett Field would bring tremendous benefits to the people of Rockaway and the surrounding communities,” Councilwoman Ariola said. “It is located just minutes away from the peninsula by car and is easily accessible by public transportation. It would also provide not just recreational opportunities, but educational ones as well. With this pool, we would be able to provide quality swim-safety education to residents, and also provide a lifeguard training facility that does not require Rockaway residents to travel long distances to be certified. Additionally, this pool would be able to serve as the home pool for our local schools, further cultivating the aquatic culture in the area.”

“A year-round, Olympic-sized pool at Floyd Bennett Field would be a transformational resource for families in surrounding communities,” New York City Council Majority Whip Selvena N. Brooks-Powers said. “This is exactly the kind of investment our legislation—Local Law 132—set out to foster: increasing access to swim infrastructure, expanding free swim lessons, and ensuring every community has the tools to stay safe in and around the water. With our neighborhoods surrounded by water and increasingly vulnerable to climate risks, we must prioritize equitable access to pools that promote safety, education, and opportunity. I applaud Councilwoman Ariola for her advocacy and am proud to support this vision for Floyd Bennett Field.”

“The Broad Channel Civic Association supports the idea of a full-size Olympic pool in one of the hangers at Floyd’s Bennet Field,” Dan Mundy Jr., President of the Broad Channel Civic Association, said. “Our sports program is fighting for pool time with less and less pools available due to issues at city high school pools.  This has threatened the local swim program. It would be wonderful to see such a facility built as an aquatic center for training and learning for all of the children in nearby communities.”

“The Rockaway Beach Civic Association has long advocated for a year-round, public pool facility on or in proximity to the Rockaway peninsula,” the Rockaway Beach Civic Association Executive Board said. “A public pool would serve the surrounding and broader community, supporting vital in-water swim education, Lifeguard and other First Responder training and certification, a range of recreational and water fitness opportunities, and at Olympic-size specifications, a prime location for youth and adult swim competitions, adaptive athletic events and more.”

“This would be a huge win for families across the peninsula,” Ed Lynch, Executive Vice President of the Belle Harbor Property Owners Association, said. “So many of our kids grow up by the water, but they don’t always have access to proper swim instruction or safe places to practice. An Olympic pool at Floyd Bennett Field could change that. It’s close by, easy to get to, and it would benefit everyone from student athletes to everyday beachgoers. It could also provide a remedy for our lifeguard issues as well, by providing a nearby facility for our young people to train at and get certified. I’m glad Councilwoman Ariola is pushing for this.”

“Rockaway is surrounded by water, but we have never had a true, year-round facility to teach our kids about swim safety,” Amanda Agoglia, President of the Neponsit Property Owners Association, said. “An Olympic-sized pool at Floyd Bennett Field would finally give us an easily accessible place where our children can learn how to swim properly, where our schools can run their aquatics programs, and where the next crop of Rockaway lifeguards can train. This would be a great amenity for so many people here in Rockaway, and I hope that it can become a reality in this new plan for Floyd Bennett Field!”