Floating Pools

Did you know the country’s only floating pool is in the Bronx?

All photos by Danny Avila for NYC Parks

August 7, 2026

Did you know the country’s only floating pool is in the Bronx?

Although it's technically safe, you may not want to swim in the East River. Swimming on the East River, however, is an entirely different story. The Floating Pool Lady is not just a pool. It’s a floating pool within a retrofitted barge that’s currently docked at Barretto Point Park in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. Best of all, it's the only floating pool in the country.
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Architecture And Design

East River’s self-filtering floating pool delayed until 2027

+ POOL Rendering. Designed by Family New York & Playlab, Inc. Image: Family New York. Courtesy of Friends of + POOL

July 31, 2026

East River’s self-filtering floating pool delayed until 2027

By Aaron Ginsburg

New Yorkers will have to wait a little longer for the self-filtering floating pool in the East River. Initially slated for a pilot this summer, the +POOL team announced on X on Wednesday that while construction is nearly complete, ongoing work on the Brooklyn Bridge-Montgomery Coastal Resilience project will delay testing of the prototype until at least 2027. More than 15 years in the making, the project reached a major milestone in summer 2024, when Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Mayor Eric Adams selected Pier 35 as its official location.
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Policy

NYC floating pool coming to the Lower East Side (eventually)

+ POOL, designed by Family New York & PLAYLAB, INC. Rendering by Luxigon.

August 7, 2024

NYC floating pool coming to the Lower East Side (eventually)

By Aaron Ginsburg

Plans to bring a self-filtering floating pool to the East River are taking a small step forward this month. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams named Pier 35 on the Lower East Side as the official location for the +POOL, a first-of-its-kind swimming pool that uses a unique filtration system to provide safe swimming. Thanks to joint funding from the city and state, a three-month water filtration demonstration project will begin this month. A prototype of the +POOL structure could be ready by the summer of 2025.
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Policy

Self-filtering floating pool pilot to be installed in NYC this summer

+POOL Rendering, 2024. Designed by Family New York & Playlab, Inc. Image by proto.

January 5, 2024

Self-filtering floating pool pilot to be installed in NYC this summer

By Aaron Ginsburg

New York City will test the waters of a self-filtering floating pool this summer. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams on Friday committed $16 million to the nonprofit +POOL, which has worked for over a decade to build a swimming pool in the East River. The group plans to launch a pilot pool to demonstrate and test +POOL's unique filtration system this summer, with the hopes of opening to swimmers in 2025. The news comes as part of a larger proposal from the governor to expand access to swimming across the state.
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A self-filtering floating pool is officially coming to the East River

+ POOL, designed by Family New York & PLAYLAB, INC. Rendering by Luxigon

May 11, 2021

A self-filtering floating pool is officially coming to the East River

By Devin Gannon

A plan to build a swimming pool on the East River is finally moving forward after being in the works for over a decade. In an Instagram post published on Saturday, the nonprofit +POOL announced the group had received confirmation from the city to proceed with due diligence on their project: a floating, self-filtering pool on the south side of Pier 35 on the Lower East Side.
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+POOL’s public art installation in the East River illuminates water quality

Rendering of + POOL Light. Designed by PlayLab and Family New York. Image courtesy Friends of + POOL

October 4, 2019

+POOL’s public art installation in the East River illuminates water quality

By Michelle Cohen

Designed by PLAYLAB, INC. and Family New York in collaboration with Floating Point, a new project from the team behind the +POOL concept makes it possible for anyone to visualize water conditions in NYC's Harbor using a light installation and an interactive website. The 50-foot x 50-foot plus-shaped "+POOL Light" is installed at the Seaport District at Lower Manhattan's Pier 17, continuously changing color based on the condition of the water in which it floats, from great for swimming to not-so-great. The installation debuted last night and will be on view until January 3rd.
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Floating Pools

Did you know the country’s only floating pool is in the Bronx?

East River’s self-filtering floating pool delayed until 2027

NYC floating pool coming to the Lower East Side (eventually)

Self-filtering floating pool pilot to be installed in NYC this summer

A self-filtering floating pool is officially coming to the East River

+POOL’s public art installation in the East River illuminates water quality

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