Residents Demand Faster Reopening Of Brooklyn Pool

BROOKLYN, NY— Elected officials, advocates and residents gathered outside the Metropolitan Recreation Center in Williamsburg, calling on the city to explain why the facility has remained closed for more than a year.

The center, which includes one of only three public indoor pools in Brooklyn, closed in January 2025. Its shutdown has left North Brooklyn residents without a key space for swimming, exercise and community programs.

“Recreation centers are not a luxury—they are an essential piece of community infrastructure, and it's time the City treated them as such,” Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said.

Organizers said the closure has disrupted access for families, seniors and young people who relied on the facility as an affordable option.

Bella Sabel, a Community Board 1 member and organizer of the pool’s women-only swim program, described the space as vital for inclusion and community.

“These rare sessions offered a welcoming and inclusive space, made up largely of retired and older adults, where Jewish and Muslim women swim side by side in harmony,” Sabel said. “Our shared goal is simple: to support a healthy body and a healthy mind.”

After the rally, participants walked to a Community Board 1 Parks Committee meeting, where New York City Department of Parks and Recreation officials presented an update. The agency projected a reopening in fall 2027.

The committee voted to send a letter to Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura urging the department to accelerate the timeline, hold monthly meetings with a new task force and explore interim alternatives for community use.

At a recent budget hearing, Shimamura described the recreation center as a “priority” and “truly a gem,” and said the agency would “work as quickly as possible” to reopen the pool.

Advocates also launched a petition titled “Respect the Rec: Fund Public Recreation in Every NYC Neighborhood,” calling on the mayor and City Council to increase funding for recreation facilities and programs.

The campaign builds on a report from the Center for an Urban Future citing decades of underinvestment in recreation infrastructure.

Kathy Park Price, director of advocacy and policy at New Yorkers for Parks, said the issue extends beyond a single site.

“Across the city, recreation centers are aging, underfunded, and too often closed when communities need them most,” Price said, adding that equitable neighborhoods require sustained investment in staffing, programs and facilities.

City officials have not announced a revised reopening timeline.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the name of the New York City Parks commissioner to Tricia Shimamura.