Daily News from New York, New York • 137

DAILY NEWS, MONDAY, JUNE 21, 1971 40 NEWS photo by Nick Sorrenlino T-e atmosphere at municipal pools is far different from a country club, but that will not deter more than 3 million people who are expected to use them this summer. ett ing into the swim in Mew York By JUDSON HAND THE I I outdoor swimming pools, 23 con- ret- in the relentless heat of the city's streets, opened Saturday for what Talk- Department of finals predict will be a season. rHf slatis tlip pls may be harder Cap "xl anil the water may be than the surf at Martha's Vineyard, Yorkers nevertheless seem to love their ipa! hojfs. T' (. t'o pai-e ami atmosphere at the municipal r'ar ri nt from the languors of a suimi ban 'rv i'iii.

Noise con be deafening ntv pioIs, the smell of ehlorine can ilrown both pools of brass wires, pipes and valves, necessitating lengthy and costly repairs. of kids with little else to do except hang out on ghetto streets ordinarily use these pools every week in the summer," said one angry Parks Department official. "Only the most heartless thief could steal fun from these youngsters. But they do, and there's apparently little we can do about it." Even more serious, however, are the budget cuts, which, according to one official, may force the closing of the outdoor pools before the scheduled date of Sept. 12.

Keeping poofs clean a problem "We don't know the precise effect of the budget cuts until the budget is finalized, but we're shuddering at the prospects," said one Parks Department official. Parks Department Commissioner August Heck-scher, however, said one major problem would be keeping the pools clean. "We just don't have enough workers to deal with litter," he said. "It's really up to those who use the pools to give us a hand. Perhaps, if some swimmers neglect to pick up their litter, others will do it for them." There's already some precedent for such assistance to pool workers at the Thomas Jefferson Pool in East Harlem.

There, a squadron of "junior lifeguards," whose duties include cleaning up locker rooms, removing debris from the water and helping enforce safety rules. When summoned by a booming voice over the pool loudspeaker system, these youngsters generally popped out of the pool and went to work. The budgetary crisis also makes plans for dozens of new pools highly problematical. "We just don't like to talk about new construction these days," said one official. "Communities get their hearts set on a pool and then, when the construction funds for it are dropped from the budget, they raise hell." with adults, too particularly on weekend mornings when it is less crowded.

"It's Harlem's mountain grotto. I've cherished it since it was opened in 1936 by Bill Bojangles Robinson and Mayor LaGuardia," said Mabel Scott, wife of a schoolteacher. The municipal pools can be found in unlike'y places for example, in Brooklyn's Red Hook district, which is mainly industrial and dockside with large low income housing projects. The pool is surpiisingly large (160 feet by 33 feet) and is surrounded by a low iron fence. Generally, it is teeming with kids from the projects.

The two new Olympic-size pools will open, hopefully in July, in Mount Morris and Van Cortlandt Parks, the Bronx. All the city's pools operate under the same ground rules, variously enforced: On weekdays, from 10 a.m. to noon, there is a free period for children 14 years old and under at most pools. Between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m.

(weekends and holidays from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.), there is an admission charge of 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. Showers a must Xo blankets, toys, swimming aids, food, glass or papers are allowed in pool areas. No running, pushing or diving at poolsides. Showers must betaken before entering the pool.

You have to wear a bathing suit to swim. The rules are generally enforced by Parks Department workers. But, generally, a sweaty cop, who tends to look wistfully at the water, is on hand to handle emergencies. This year, despite the increased popularity anticipated for the pools, there are bigger problems, due mainly to a rise in vandalism and a drop in the city budget. Two large pools, both serving poverty areas, one at Crotona Park in the Bronx and the other in East Harlem on E.

124th St. near First won't open until July at the earliest. Vandals have stripped ii thv ot suntati oil. At others, the crowds are t. rit on steamy days that swimmers must wait I t.in.-'.ody b-aves to plunge in.

The noise, partic-! f( iri.rils of kids are frolicking, can le i- and. at some pools, the cops have to break M.r .1 1 fist fight between teenage li -'inimrr, no b-ss than swimmers nr. ii pal pools. This season, with nine new it in Olympic size, expected to open dur- i the may well exceed 3 million. i -n't take into aiiount the tens of thou-t who are expected to splash around in nti pools tnio-tly for wailing) which are ti city.

n'l'i'v, tiie popularity of the city pools is i iarge asure to the fact that most of them to tte point of caricature, the personali-t ighbm I'ihiiIs. vhich overlooks the East i K. T-th for exaaiple, the feature attrac- imlt many afternoons is airline stewardesses, i themselves in bikinis at poolside. lit -Timer when I was supposed to be job- I ed to stf there all afternoon and just i oimg ad man vvho lives in York vi lie. i and tell my wife I'd bad three The John Jay pool, in fact, is considered the Cote of the inner city and, any weekend, may be i voio-cd with a crowd whose members range from I Nations diplomat to young singles on the if.

ike. Hippie swimmers The Kite Island of city pols is wedged between a i court and bathhouse on Clarkson St. near SiMnth in (ireenwich Village. There, lifeguards a apt to sport long hair and full beards and the -v. r.im'ers are a mixture of hippie types and pot-: parents who stand up to their necks in water complain about city conditions while their children ili -i'iirt themselves nearby.

A deferent atmosphere prevails at the community 1.1 terraeed into a sharply rising hillside among overhanging trees ami rocks along: Edgecombe Ave. i err the "Sugar Hill" section of Harlem. The pool tr. 'it" is generally overflowing with frisky youngsters I line up tit the five diving boards, but it is popular WHERE THE POOLS ARE Van Cortlandt Park, 244th St. east of Broadway.

BROOKLYN: Betsy Head Pool, Hopkinson and Dumont McCarren Park Pool, Driggs Ave. and Lorimer Red Hook Pool, Bay and Henry Sunset Park Pool, 7th Ave. and 43d St QUEENS: Astoria Park Pool, 19th St. and 23d Flushing Meadows Pool, Expressway and Grand Central Parkway; Liberty Park Pool, 172d St south of Liberty Jamaica. STATEN ISLAND: Faber Park Pool, Faber St and Richmond Terrace; Lyons Pool, foot of Victory Tompkinsville; West Brighton Pool, Park at Chapel St.

and Henderson Ave. MANHATTAN: Colonial Park Pool, Brad-hurst Ave. and W. 145th E. 23d St.

Pool, playgrounds at Levy Place; Hamilton Fish Pool, E. Houston and Sheriff Clarkson St. Pool, 7th Ave. near Carmine Highbridge Pool, Amsterdam Ave. and W.

173d St; John Jay Pool, E. 77th St. near York Jefferson Park Pool, 111th St. and 1st Lasker Memorial Pool, Harlem Meer, Central Park; Sheltering Arms Pool, W. 129th St.

and Amsterdam W. 69th St Pool, Ixltween West End and Amsterdam Aves. BRONX: Haffen Park, Ely and Hammersley Mullaly Park, 165th St. and Kiver.