Rally to Save the Double-D Pool

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Yesterday public officials and area residents came out to protest the city’s recent decision to close the Douglas-Degraw (“Double-D”) pool in Gowanus as part of budget-cutting efforts. As we mentioned earlier, Gowanus would stands to be particularly hard hit, with three day care centers, one senior center, one after-school program and a health clinic all on the line. Marty Markowitz showed up to the protest, taking off his shorts to reveal swim trunks (although he kept his shirt on), and spoke on behalf of the pool closure. As the Brooklyn Paper reports, Marty didn’t have a magic solution up his sleeve to save the pool. Instead, he asked private investors to consider shelling out the $200,000 dollars the city needs to reopen Double D. While protesters questioned the need for private funding even though the pool had so much government support, it seemed like the speakers, which included Assemblywoman Joan Millman and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke as well as Council Members Steve Levin and Brad Lander, had no other solutions in the face of an upcoming $400 million budget cut. A woman speaking on behalf of Wyckoff Gardens, one of three public housing projects nearby, said to the crowd, “To make all these cuts is to act like we’re not citizens. Well, we’re citizens.”
Marty: How About Adopt-a-Pool? [The Brooklyn Paper]
Parks Department To Close Four City Pools [NY 1]
Gowanus Gutted by Budget Cuts [Brownstoner]

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