Although it is technically possible to swim in the East River, many of us have a mental block against actually doing so, like eating sweetbreads or imbibing from a drinking fountain that looks like a toilet. Who wants to squander their recreation time wondering whether the detritus brushing against your leg is a clump of algae or an elaborately tangled mass of human hair—especially since it's probably the latter?
So it's good news that +Pool, which will someday float in the river, is one step closer to existing, with recent tests indicating that its water filtration system actually works just like it's supposed to! How wonderful! So when are we getting our f&*$ing floating pool?
Not soon. Despite having launched a wildly successful initial Kickstarter in 2010, and an even more successful one last year, the meta dream of bobbing in a pool that itself is bobbing on the river will not be realized this summer. According to Curbed, the +Pool team is contemplating anchoring their creation in Dumbo, "but that's not set in stone." Indeed, "they're working on finalizing the pool's final site somewhere in the East River by the end of this year."
By the time it actually opens, maybe that 1942 plan to drain the river and turn it into a nice highway will finally have come to fruition.
