Public Employee Press

Repairs won at Brownsville pool

The reign of mold and bad air at the Brownsville Recreation Center swimming pool is ending. The Parks Dept. shut down the pool in early August to begin making the long overdue renovations to correct the health hazards highlighted recently in PEP and other media.

The Parks Dept. has budgeted $1.49 million toward the project, which includes installing a new ventilation system that will replace the current rusty old fan.

"A lot of people are happy about this," said Lifeguard Miguel Rios, a 27-year veteran who has worked at the Brownsville Rec Center for the last three years. "Finally the city is doing something about an issue that's been going on for too long," he said.

The pool will remain closed until sometime in 2013 as the overhaul is made. The Lifeguards who normally work at the Brownsville Rec Center have been reassigned to other city pools.

NYC Lifeguards Local 461 President Franklyn Paige credits the exposé of the state of the pool in the July-August 2012 issue of PEP for the city's no longer being able to ignore the hazardous conditions.

"The more exposure they got, the more they had to do something," Paige said. "On behalf of our members and the community, I want to thank PEP for bringing this to light."

"Our voices shall be heard through the media," Paige said.

— Joe Lopez