New Promise for CCNY Swimming Pool Opening

NEW YORK — The swimming pool at The City College of New York (CCNY) is still undergoing renovation. Last year, the college told Harlem View that the pool would reopen in January 2023. But that didn’t happen. If you want to swim at CCNY, you’ll have to wait until January 2024.

The Jeremiah H. Mahoney Pool on the basement level of the Marshak Science Building has been closed for almost ten years. The college discovered cracks in the pool’s foundation and also found that the filtration systems were failing, and that made the pool unsafe for anyone to use. The $19.3 million renovation began in 2014, and every time the college thought it was ready, something happened.

The college slowly made repairs. Now, the pool is full of water, and white lines mark its six racing lanes. Yet students, faculty, and community members still can’t use it. In Harlem View’s first report, Director of Athletics Steve Macias and CCNY Spokesperson Jay Mwamba cited the pandemic and supply chain demands as the primary delay factors during the pool renovation. This year, we didn’t get information about the latest setbacks. Harlem View reached out to Director of Athletics Steve Macias again. In a statement, he said,

“In order to get the pool open, we have to have the Board of Health and building inspectors come in first. There is a list of items that we have to be completed before we can have these people come in. Also, know that the pool’s completion would have been earlier if the COVID pandemic did not halt construction for a good portion of time.  As soon as the list of things is done, we can hopefully get the pool open. January of 2024 is the goal for the reopening.”

The Department of Athletics said it looks forward to operating the facility and has grand plans to benefit those who intend to utilize it. “We would like to have open swim times for all our students and staff during the day,” Macias said. He continued, “We also want to have our pool available for outside organizations like the Department of Education to run learn-to-swim programs.”  The facility plans to provide lifeguard certification training, CPR and first aid courses, cross-training for the athletic department teams, and water fitness classes.

CCNY’s Aquatics Director, Tomeka Marie Austin, will run the pool programs when they open. Macias insists that this time, the school will make the swimming pool opening date a reality. “The City College of New York and Athletics Department are working closely with the construction company to ensure that [they] hit the mark for an opening in January. As soon as [they] get the OK to open, [they] will announce the grand reopening,” he said.

Students and community members said they’d like the pool to open. “It’s nice to have a swimming pool, especially in New York City. You don’t see many public swimming pools, and it’s very hard to come by, especially if you don’t want to spend money on a membership,” said 17-year-old Papa Diene, a local high schooler and frequent Marshak visitor.

But some are skeptical about the promises. City College student Alpha Diakite stated, “We’re not getting that pool until 2026, 2030.” He wondered why the college invested so much money in the pool when there are buildings on campus like Marshak that need repair. Student Era Gonzales commented, “Marshak has been under construction for ages! My parents they went here, and even when they were coming here, its been under construction. So, I don’t know if Marshak is a little gold mine for construction projects or whatever, but as for the pool…is anyone creating a swim team?”

Again, the scheduled opening now is January 2024.