When you cost $350 million to build and you haven't figured out how to pay your $16-million-a-year operating costs another $5-$10 million is just a drop in the pool, right? That seems to be the logic the Brooklyn Bridge Park is going with as it applies for a floating pool permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation. more ›

Excellent news: The Neptune Foundation's Floating Pool will be coming back to NYC this summer--and will head to the Bronx! more ›

New York City was amply represented during last night's National Design Awards at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. more ›

This Labor Day weekend is not just the unofficial last weekend of summer - it's the official last weekend to enjoy the city's beaches and pools. After Monday, the 14 miles of beaches and 52 outdoor pools (including the Floating Pool - which will be heading to the Bronx for the summer of 2008) will be closed. more ›

According to the Post, the Parks Department has confirmed that the "Floating Pool Lady" will be towed to another borough next summer. more ›

Today, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will be kicking off another year of "Lighten Up Brooklyn" with a walk around Brooklyn Heights. "Lighten Up Brooklyn" was started a few years ago to encourage Brooklynites to lose weight and make their lifestyles healthier. And since he had stents put into his arteries last year, Lighten Up Brooklyn is a big deal to Markowitz. From his office's press release:

Markowitz, who underwent a stent procedure last summer, vowed to transform and lengthen his life through healthy eating and a committed fitness regimen. The borough president’s frequent energetic strolls through Prospect Park have helped him lose 26 pounds since last summer, and he kicks off the Lighten Up Brooklyn 2007 not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk!

After a commenter wondered if Brooklyn's Floating Pool really had a beach, another reader sent us some lovely photographs of the pool and beach. The Floating Pool is in a barge and has gangplanks that connect it to shore, where the beach is (in the above photograph, the barge is in the upper left corner). Thanks, PM! more ›

The Floating Pool opened at Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday to visitors (a "decent sized" crowd showed up) . However, there are some lingering issues, thanks to yesterday's rainy weather. Reader Drew went to visit the pool today and wrote to us:

Unfortunately, after being open only one day to the public, it was closed. The director, a very nice woman, explained that the rain from yesterday flooded some of the ballast tanks and tilted the entire barge. So basically one end of the pool had 2 feet of water, and the other end was overflowing. They did let some of the public on the barge to check it out and take some pictures, but the pool is closed all day while engineers attempt to fix the problem. We'll see if this gets resolved by tomorrow.

New York's own floating pool is opening tomorrow! The concept was that of Ann Buttenwieser, founder of the Neptune Foundation and a former manager of City Parks. The water on water can be found at Brooklyn Bridge Park, it's free and open from 11am to 7pm (the beach is open from 9am to 9pm) - seven days a week. more ›