we bought a condo here and we're not rich. i'm a school teacher! brooklyn is more afforable than manhattan to own property and not give your entire paycheck to a landlord. we saved our 10% down! it's hard to read sweeping judgements about who will be moving into these buildings. we want to raise a family and this seems like a nice place to do that.

we bought a condo here and we're not rich. i'm a school teacher! brooklyn is more afforable than manhattan to own property and not give your entire paycheck to a landlord. we saved our 10% down! it's hard to read sweeping judgements about who will be moving into these buildings. we want to raise a family and this seems like a nice place to do that.

Damn, gentrification means nothing for the people from the inside than mass genocide! I agree that the weeds and graffiti were very integral elements of the pool. Why do these abandoned places carry so much stigma? TO me they embody the soul and history of the worlds they live in, like time capsules, untouched and preserved forever from change. They are relics, not eye sores and these "hipsters" and whatever else they want to be have no idea what they are killing cause their aims in life are so material and shallow they could never understand the depths of this problem. They don't care who can no longer afford their own neighborhoods so they can live in the new hot spot, or what local diner or store has either closed down or gotten too expensive for regulars to enjoy so that they may feel more important in a funky place. I remember when many places were deemed just plain uncool, like Brooklyn!? Remember those days? Where were these city lovers who love NY so much wnen NY was on its ass and no one from anywhere else could care less if it fell into the harbor forever!? I bet you they wouldn't have the spirit or courage to love it if it was still a tough city. Thank you LA for infecting NY with your PC health concious ways. So sad to see the toughest city in the world become abandoned by its owners and renovated by outsiders. For all those who think NYC was rebirthed? It died a long time ago, what's left now is this apparition of a city, the energy of it's ghosts still illuminating it. It's clean, it's safe, there's alot of places to eat and shop, but where have all the New Yorkers gone? Clue: Look in PA cause most are gone, many left because they couldn't afford the rising rent anymore, thanks to all of you who had to move to Brooklyn cause you couldn't afford Manhattan, and made it your own.

What a second, where is there a full-court basketball court in McCarren Park??? I've never heard about that - that's crazy.

People are going to murder me for this, but i'm from Long Island so i'm damn glad i dont have to pay ticket cost plus my $16 round trip LIRR ticket fare plus a few bucks to take the L. i'm planning on going to at least two of the free JellyNYC shows, and i'm pretty damn happy about that because its usually too inconvenient for me to see the bands i want, especially when theyre all 18+ or 21+ anyway. so fuck that. it's all good. and we will be nuked anyway so who cares.

you could always go to the pool on sundays between like 3-8pm for the FREEEEEE rock shows (THE POOL PARTIES). and dodgeball!!!! and slip and slide!! and good times for FREEEEE. courtesy jelly nyc....

i've gone every sunday so far and it is always worth it and fun. You are asked to donate whatever you like but no 50 dollar ticket or what have you- you could give a penny to what ever you like- or nothing at all too. and there are good bands too like pretty girls make graves and les savy fav to name a couple bigger name ones....so don't get mad go watch some free shows and relax this summer....xo

I'm goin to see The Shins here at the Pool.

Do they serve beer at these shows?

I want to see if I have to take off the next day ;-)

1.The drains were not filled in, I spoke with the Parks Dept guy (Eric Petersen) at the show last Friday. The pool can absolutely be a pool again.

2. There are other amenities there, like a full-size basketball court in one of the bldgs, that should also be restored and reopened.

3. Live Nation is the same as Clear Channel. They were "spun off" in name only. Live Nation has the same board of directors, they have clearchannel.com email addresses, they share a pension plan, they share a payroll service, and they were both indited a few weeks ago in an antitrust lawsuit that the "spinoff" was a lame attempt to prevent.

4. It is fucking ridiculous that there are $50 shows, set up through a back channel deal, going on in our park. Summer Stage in Central Park and Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park both have great shows, and they are FREE. Because it is a public park. If Clear Channel wants to sponsor FREE shows, like Jelly NYC is doing, then they are welcome to.

5. THere is a meeting tonight )7/10)at Union Pool to organize and inform. 8:00

6. www.poolaid.org

Give the Pool to the People!

Yes, concerts are cool. Using an all but abandoned space is cool. What's *not* cool is handing over PUBLIC space to a large bully of a corporation/spin-off and for them to rent out their equipment to the other groups want to use said public space. I get that corporate sponsorship happens. I don't get that something built during the DEPRESSION is in danger of being run by Live Nation, Clear Channel's patsy live entertainment spin-off, because there's not enough money now to fix it up.

Other groups are proving that free programming's possible, and there's been lots of community discussion about how to use the space for events (gasp) not even related to music -- so why support a monopolistic behemoth like CC/Live Nation? Why support something that censors music based on political beliefs, steamrolls competition, and lines war mongering pockets? 6 summer shows, a three-five year contract, McCarren Park's name changed to Clear Channel Meadow...??? Yuck.

It's fun to be snarky & pick on hipsters and Williamsburg, but it's even more fun -- & potentially more effective -- to pick on Clear Channel & Live Nation. Make sure they don't bully their way into a public park & eliminate the other community-generated plans.

We will be nuked soon and it will be pointless.

First of all as far as the park goes. The city will do what ever it takes to make money! If that meens selling this park for the summer to Clear channel then thats what it meens! You want to complain about sh#t, Complain about the construction that has been going on all along the "G"line! That sh%t has been going on for the past [14]years! Back to the park, I wouldn't be surprised if it took the city [2]-[4] years to finally complete this project. That due to the fact that these summer concerts are going to be a boon for the city and Clear channel so as to give the city an excuse to keep this going for future summers! That inturn delays the completion of this project and the residents of the area continue to bitch about it!!

I agree with the williamsburg resident two posts up . . . what is so bad about a private company hosting shows in a facility that is currently not in use?

Face it people, private-public partnerships are how things are done now. And they often provide the most efficient way to get good things done. The beautiful park on the Long Island City waterfront is a great example. As part of the development deal, the condo developers had to contribute to the new piers, the new public waterfront park (which everyone in the area enjoys, not just the condo owners), and the public elementary school that is housed in the first floor of one of the condo buildings.

Are the condos "cool" in the minds of the 20/30-somethings who bitch about hipsters and gentrification, but are prime examples of each phenomenon? Probably not. But Williamsburg could learn a lesson of the LIC development - to participate in the conversation, you have to sit down at the table.

I support anything that improves McCarren Park, brings Karen O back to Brooklyn and contains the words \"Sonic\" and \"Youth.\" Now, would the Parks Department please go out there and cut the grass? It\'s already June for christ\'s sakes.

First off, it is not clear channel doing shows at the pool. The company is Live Nation and, yes, they USED to be owned by Clear Channel. But even if it was CC, why would they suck for trying to help? I wouldn\'t care who it was if it got the pool back on track to becoming a pool at some point.

Second, people who take the time to attend their community board meetings give input. This is how this came about and the people who were there added their input. Those who don\'t show up shouldn\'t complain. I didn\'t see you there.

Third, some chimp named andy earlier said that the underground was filled in by \"clear channel contractors.\" I know for a fact that the underground is just fine and STILL FILLED WITH WATER AS IT HAS FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS BECAUSE NO ONE HAS DONE ANYTHING THERE! Andy, I didn\'t see you at the community board meeting either. You have ZERO idea what you are talking about. The only pool you have been in is Union Pool.

Fourth, the graffitti was cleaned by the city\'s contractors and, yes that stinks. It gave the place a much more interesting vibe, but it was the city\'s choice to do so, no one else. Ultimately, if the pool was actually a pool again, it wouldn\'t be there either, now would it?

Finally, Todd P is doing what a number of you people are not. Creating events for people to go to. If its 5 or 500 or 5000 why do you care? If you can do a better job, go do it and stop your whining. (Just a quick aside, todd p could not have make iron and wine happen in these circumstances, nor could he have for less money. No reflection on todd, he does plenty of great work).

The whole point of this was and is to generate what money is possible for the pool and yes, some people may make a dollor off it. It was also done to point attention to what has been a public eyesore for 20 years in a relatively nice area. Not everything is a zero sum gain and not everything is free. Look at the other events at Central or Prospect park. Some paid, some free. It was with this in mind that the project was begun.

What way do you want it people? To have someone try to do something that won\'t involve you getting a property tax increase or would you rather sit around bitching on the blog of an uninformed person (like the person that originally posted this for Gothamist) allowing other uninformed, apathetic people to whine about the sky falling when all that is happening is some involvement on the part of local and national businesses.

Kudoos to you people who realize that the people working at the pool, both public and private, are trying to do something to help it. If not, they would not be there. NOT EVERYTHING IS JUST ABOUT MAKING MONEY. There are both paid for shows and free shows happening. The nature of the shows may not please everyone all the time, but hey, it\'s Brooklyn, NY. Go do something else that night. Like you had a choice before.

This is a 40 million dollar project to get the pool back on it\'s feet. Got a problem with how it\'s being done? Get involved. Apathy before or after the fact is only one thing: PATHETIC. I am really tired of hearing all this complaining. Get a life quite being a blog quarterback.

Broadly classifying someone based upon how much they pay for rent is such an asshole thing to do. Go fuck yourself.

The pool is/was an overgrown mess. I have no love for Ticketmaster, so go buy your tickets at the Bedford record store to avoid the fee and quit your bitching.

Someone comes along and tries to do a little something that involves change to a completely blighted, neglected craphole site, and you guys shit all over it. You sound like a bunch of complaining assholes, plain and simple... behavior WORSE than what one would expect from $3000/month rent assholes running around Wall Street.

And $30 bucks for three solid acts is NOT too much... get a fucking job or move to friggin' Buffalo.

hey I was at that outdoor parking lot show todd p did - it ended at 2am.

Afterwards me and half the audience went over to Bushwick and saw coachwhips play on a roof at somebody else's show until like 6am.

so yeah, if you left at three you saw everybody and hung out for an extra hour for some reason. maybe you passed out?

does anybody else care that these jerks have poured concrete in the drains and ruined the pool as a pool?

I don't know what yer talking about because nine out of ten shows of Todd P's that I go to are more on time than shows at clubs. I've rarely seen him send a headliner on after 1am unless it's some kind of special bonanza crazy party.

a way bigger problem is somewhere like Irving Plaza or Bowery or Northsix that makes openning bands (often the only decent band on a bill) start at like 7:30 at night right as the doors are openning.

And the worst is when they get their goon security guards to kick you out heavy-handed style five minutes after the last note of the last band. God forbid those assholes take a second to take it in or enjoy the fucking party of the whole thing.

lame!

The thing about ToddP shows at obscure venues (like pools, parking lots, lofts) is that he books like 8 bands, and says, "Hey it starts at 3!" So, you figure you want to see like the last 4 bands, you show up at 6PM, and the second band is just setting up. They play for like 30 min. Then you wait an hour, and another band plays. Then all of a sudden it's 3 AM, there are 3 bands left to play, but you have to get to your buddy's Moving-to-China-Forever party to see him one last time, so you skip out on the rest of the show, frustrated, drunk and sunburnt. Sure, you had fun, but you were actually there for the music, which didn't deliver.

> Yeah but Todd P likes to book shitty noise bands

> only he and 5 other people like. Black Dice in

> the pool? No thanks. Countless better bands &

> bookers out there.

what better bands? oh yeah - let me guess, your band. I'd be willing to bet you wanted Todd to book your band and he didn't and now you're pissed off.

you find me these countless better bookers, because I don't see 'em.

I guess those five friends of Todd P's are like the loaves and the fishes because I sure see lots of people at Todd's shows - the majority of which aren't "noise" by the way.

I believe Todd's actually throwing an eight hour all *acoustic* bbq this weekend.