Anyone In NJ Can Use New Pool On Hudson River, But Their Pass System Breaks A DEP Rule

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — As temperatures climbed into the 80s in North Jersey this week, residents of the waterfront town of Weehawken, and other nearby towns, were allowed to use the sprawling pool in the town's new waterfront complex. The complex was completed two years ago and partly funded by $4 million in state Green Acres funds.

Theoretically, because of the state funding, anyone living in the state can use the new complex — which sits alongside the Hudson River — according to state Department of Environmental Protection rules.

But for summer 2023, the town has been requiring paid season passes without offering any day passes, and this has run afoul of state officials.

The state DEP said recently that the town has to do more to allow outside residents to access the complex, if they want to.

The township is charging its own residents $100 per adult for a season pool pass, and $200 per adult for out of towners, plus a $25 out-of-town fee. Kids are free.

Those costs are legal, according to DEP regulations, but what's not legal is the lack of day passes, which might be used by those who don't visit that often.

Several towns contiguous to Weehawken have their own municipal pools that can be accessed at low cost, but residents of one nearby town that lacks a pool — and also lacks low-cost recreation swim lessons — have been complaining.

In Hoboken, whose leaders have promised to build a pool for decades but have never done so, there's only one pool offering free access (the Hoboken High School pool, whenever camps aren't using it), and the city hasn't made low-cost lessons available to all children.

The town's YMCA closed more than a decade ago, and since then, the town has not provided affordable swim or summer camp programs, despite promises. Meanwhile, Weehawken has partnered with the North Jersey YMCA to offer affordable full-day camps with swim lessons.

One mom in Hoboken, tired of the broken promises, started a petition late last year for Hoboken to begin constructing a standalone pool, rather than continue to make annual promises about planned developments years into the future.

At the same time, the state DEP has told Weehawken that if they force New Jersey residents to pay a fee for season passes, they're also supposed to allow people to purchase day passes.

Therein lies the debate.

DEP: 'We Are Aware Of The Issue'

"We are aware of the issue, and you are correct that when season passes are offered to the public for Green Acres’ funded parks, our rules say that daily or single use passes must also be offered. I contacted the Weehawken Manager about this on 6/6," said a DEP official in an email to a Hoboken dad last month.

Mayor Richard Turner of Weehawken told NJ.com recently that it's easy for the DEP to demand day passes when they're not the ones having to staff and maintain the pool.

"The problem with DEP is first of all, they’ve never had to run a pool that’s as popular as this one and secondly, they’re not flexible enough to allow us to experiment,” Turner said in an NJ.com story.

In Hoboken this season, town leaders haven't come out publicly about working with Turner on the day pass issue.

Hoboken spokesperson Marilyn Baer told Patch last month, "The administration has reached out to Weehawken to ensure residents have access to the pool and will continue to advocate on behalf of residents. The city continues to partner with Stevens Institute if Technology to ensure residents can access their pool year-round through several membership options."

Stevens, a university in Hoboken, allows access to its indoor pool year-round for a fee.

Weehawken Mayor Turner told NJ.com that on a recent weekend, nearly 1,000 people showed up to use the pool, and on Memorial Day, more than 300 came from Hoboken alone. The pool was available to out-of-towners for free on weekends through June 23.

The city of Hoboken finally announced last month that they're seeking feedback to help choose one of three plans for a new recreational complex downtown, including a pool. Residents can fill out the survey here.

But what will the town offer in the meantime? And will Weehawken work something out with Hoboken, and with the DEP?

Last year, when Weehawken leaders finally opened their pool to out-of-towners in August — after pressure from the DEP and others — Hoboken's city officials publicly praised Turner and each other, which drew some jeers.

If Weehawken did not open it to non-residents they would lose Green Acre funds. Weehawken had to do this to get their $4mil. — Paul Presinzano 1st Ward City Council Candidate (@presinzano4hob1) August 4, 2022\

Read Patch's past coverage of the fight for a pool in Hoboken, the new Weehawken pool, and related issues here.