This January, Governor Kathy Hochul announced her NY SWIMS initiative, the New York Statewide Investment in More Swimming, which is intended to dramatically expand access to safe swimming, address equity gaps with recreational activities, and provide resources for communities facing extreme heat.

Part of that initiative is the city and state partnership with a first-of-itskind floating swimming pool, + Pool, in the city’s river waters (see Service Industry News, February 1, 2024).

However, the initiative goes well beyond a single city swimming pool.

The state will build a number of additional new municipal pools, deploy mobile pools to areas facing extreme heat, and invest in the state’s parks system. The state will also increase the number of parks, pools, and beaches that offer swimming instruction, as well as train and recruit new lifeguards.

“Access to swimming isn’t just about recreation — it’s about public health and climate resiliency,” Governor Hochul said. “NY SWIMS will be the largest statewide investment in swimming since the New Deal, expanding access for underserved communities and improving safety for kids across New York.”

The state is really planning on putting its money where its mouth is.

There’s a competitive $60 million grant program to facilitate renovation and construction of pools in high-need neighborhoods across the state.

There’s another $60 million in competitive grant funding to municipalities for the deployment of innovative, floating pools that can allow New Yorkers to safely swim in natural bodies of water.

There’s a $30 million innovative municipal grant program to fund small, mobile, pop-up swimming pools. These pools would be movable or temporary facilities that could be dispatched to block parties, parks, events, or open spaces.

There’s $147 million for a new recreation center with an indoor pool at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans, Queens, and another $141 million for a recreation center with an indoor pool in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. (NYC Parks is one of the largest providers of free swim classes in the city, and their free, yearround aquatics programming allows New Yorkers to make swimming a lifetime recreation and fitness habit.)

In addition, the state will address its lifeguard shortage by offering a grant program through the Department of State to reimburse municipalities for expenses related to lifeguard compensation to help expand operating hours, increase staffing levels for swim programs, and widen access to public beaches and pools throughout New York State.

At the beginning of last summer, the city had only about one third of the 1,400 lifeguards needed to keep swimmers safe.)

Furthermore, the state will more than double the number of pools and beaches that offer water safety instruction programs in 2024 — from 7 to 17 — phasing in the additional beaches and pools in future years.

And the sun screen is free! The NY SWIMS initiative comes as drowning rates have reached record highs in New York, with the most recent data from 2021 showing 230 deaths in the state. “New York City is surrounded by water, folks, and our young people are not being taught how to swim,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.