It’s the second summer of alternative plans, and the city’s parks, libraries and pools suddenly seem remarkable
The rules of New York City’s public swimming pools are stringent: no flotation aids, no coloured T-shirts, no food, no diving – and, most remarkably in this city of punitive cost, no charge. For the space of the summer, the 50-odd outdoor pools across the city’s five boroughs provide relief and recreation for thousands of New Yorkers – and something more nebulous, too. The locker rooms might be shabby, but every few years, when a local news outlet tests the water in a cross section of pools, the results are deeply satisfying and often the same. While the water in the city’s most expensive hotel pools is discovered to be teeming with germs, the public pools are almost always sparklingly clean.
This reminder of how good public services in the city can be feels particularly pertinent this summer, the second in a row of altered plans. If last year was the summer of reduced expectations – no one expected to go anywhere and made alternative local arrangements – this year is much choppier, with Covid rules changing seemingly every five minutes and travel plans being repeatedly cancelled. As a result, and by default, many of us have ended up doing something we might not have done for years, which is spending August in the city. New York, famously hostile to life in the summer, is suddenly a great place to be.
