Seeger pushes for floating swimming pool off Beacon

By Anthony P. Musso
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

 

Graham Haber/For the Poughkeepsie Journal A model of a small river pool, which has been proposed for installation in the Hudson River off Beacon's shore.

BEACON -- One of the city's most famous residents, folk singer Pete Seeger, envisions a Hudson River swimming hole -- 21st-century style.

A longtime environmental activist, Seeger initiated a plan to construct a floating swimming pool along the banks of the Hudson, adjacent to the city's train station and park.

"We've been working with an engineer from New York City to design a floating structure that would have a large swimming area for adults and a smaller wading pool for toddlers," Seeger said. "It would collapse at the end of the season to allow for storage during winter months."

A scaled model of the pool, designed by Manhattan architect Meta Brunzema, was first unveiled at September's Beacon Day.

The floating pool's volunteer committee coordinator, Judy Allen, secured a $3,000 foundation grant to have the floating pool model constructed.

Seeger has first-hand knowledge of the concept, having grown up in New York City, where floating pools were located along the river from the late 1800s through the 1930s. They were eventually removed because of poor water quality.

Introduced as bath pools for hygienic reasons, the floating pools served the residents of overcrowded tenements. But they quickly became popular as social and recreational spaces.

Brunzema's design has evolved into a transparent pool -- or as she put it "a lens into the river that would educate people about the river."

It is basically a safety net on the bottom of a large circular structure, with netting also encircling the perimeter.

City council receptive

Supporters of the idea approached the Beacon City Council, which told the group they didn't oppose such a swimming pool but taxpayers should not be burdened with paying for it.

Brunzema said she anticipates funding would be available from private foundations.

In addition, a soon-to-be-released study, commissioned by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, on water quality and the feasibility of swimming in the river, addresses floating pools and beaches.

The study, Brunzema said, could lead to state funds for the Beacon project.

"The cost of the pool project is estimated at between $100,000 and $150,000," Brunzema said. "The alternative, to construct a beach is a huge engineering initiative and would cost millions of dollars. The pool can also be used as an environmental classroom.

Camps, schools and scientists can enter the pool, put goggles on and observe fish and activity in the river."

The larger potion of the two-section mesh-screened pool would have one area with a 75-foot length to allow for swimming laps, with a depth of between three and five feet. A smaller, 20-foot wide, fenced-in toddler pool would range between 6 and 9 inches in depth and allow parents to sit along the side no more than 10 feet from their children.

The structure would be fastened to the river bottom with tied-tension moorings, ensuring the pool would rise and fall with the tide.

Seeger said the project is seeking more volunteers to help shape the proposal and then make it a reality.

Open to the general public, the pool would have an estimated daily fee of $1 per adult and 50 cents per child, to pay for insurance and two planned lifeguards at the site.

"The advantage of this type of pool is it is really not about being in a swimming pool in the traditional sense," Brunzema said. "It's really about being in the river and having a very safe experience."