Pool At Upper East Side's Asphalt Green Reopens With New Filter System

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Olympic-sized pool at Upper East Side fitness center Asphalt Green has reopened after a three-week project to install a new water filtration system, the center announced this week.

The 50-meter pool has serviced more than nine million New Yorkers since it opened in 1993, but was using its original water filters, a spokesman for Asphalt Green told Patch. Upper East Side City Councilman Ben Kallos secured more than $600,000 for new Neptune Benson Defender filters for the pool.

The new system will keep the pool cleaner and require less maintenance by filtering a whopping 2.6 million gallons of water per day, an Asphalt Green spokesman said.

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"Council Member Kallos continues to be a valued supporter of Asphalt Green’s mission to help New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds live active, healthy lifestyles through sports and fitness," Maggy Siegel, executive director of Asphalt Green, said in a statement. "We are tremendously grateful for the Council’s funding for our new eco-friendly pool filters, which will make our water cleaner for the thousands of children and adults who use our pool each month."

Asphalt Green, which is located near York Avenue and East 91st Street, will host a number of fall programs at its Olympic-sized pool. One of those programs is the Waterproofing program, which provides 35 weeks of free swim instruction to 2,800 public school students. The pool also hosts the fitness center's competitive swim team and swim lessons for people of all ages and skill levels.

"Asphalt Green is one of my favorite places on the Upper East Side to exercise, and now it has likely the cleanest pool in all of New York City thanks to the new, state-of-the-art filters and renovation," Council Member Kallos said in a statement.

Photos courtesy City Councilman Ben Kallos