Guest pool explorer: Susanna Schell!

I'm furiously preparing for an upcoming intensive course on rural food systems at the University of Vermont (The Town That Food Saved is fantastic, if you're looking for summer reading that is both light, smart, and inspirational), so today's blog post comes from guest blogger (and my favorite neighbor) Susanna Schell. Enjoy!

for years public pools remained a thing of my suburban childhood: my mother and her perfectly tanned skin, mine burned to a crisp, and the sloshing of chlorinated water in my ears for hours, never clearing until after dinner in our air-conditioned sunroom. they were uncrowded, casual and part of a small community. though i've lived in new york off and on now for twelve years, it took moving to astoria, ny to be reminded that community can and still does exist fervently in the the five boroughs.

i was reminded of this vividly when i ventured west from my apartment last week to astoria park to take a dip in the astoria park public pool. it is the largest of the "robert moses 11" -- an enormous outdoor pool free to the public that opened in 1936, boasting an average capacity of 5,000 people. as a grad student/waitress studying to teach elementary aged kids i'm always looking for ways to save money, particularly when trying to cool off and/or exercise. so when i was told that this pool is FREE i dropped by mid-day, on opening day, to see if it's my kinda pool. 'cause a free pool in walking distance of my house?! and i thought being able to see my job from my apartment window was a NYC miracle.

i didn't find the idyllic suburban pool, but i found something worth taking advantage of, for sure. the ups: it's BIG, it's COLD and it's FREE. it's a vibrant ambiance with happy gleeful families enjoying the sun, the water and the snack bar. you're not going to find a tranquil, serene dip due to the crowds (i had to wait in line when arriving at 1:00pm as they controlled capacity) but as with most else in NYC, the peace is found in taking a moment to simply look up and take in the enormity and breadth of what surrounds you. with views of the triboro bridge, astoria park, manhattan and the east river while i cooled off in the early summer heat wave, the crowds faded away. and if it's exercise you seek, swing by between 7 and 8:30 am, when free adult lap swimming is available.

 

the need to knows: bathing suits and locker pad-locks are required but don't fret if you show up empty handed for there are men selling both outside of the pool (yes, i had to buy a lock). water bottles are allowed, but other food and drink are not so don't be shocked when people ask to look in your bag as you enter. electronics are not allowed in the pool area, but there are wonderful places around the outside of the pool structure from which you can take pics of it all, if you so desire.

the most important tip of all: bring a pair of waterproof flip-flops. alas, crowds in wet places do not lend themselves well to clean and tidy locker-rooms. :)

Brighton Beach Memoirs, or, Game-Time Decisions

Mike and I planned all weekend to attend check out The Roots at Celebrate Brooklyn last Sunday, but when we awoke at 11 am (whoa! I think the heat has been taking it out of us), another free concert just didn't fit the bill. Game-time decision: we decided to hit the beach instead. This is another particular delight of doing free stuff - guilt-free last-minute mind-changing.

We wanted to explore a new spot we hadn't yet been to, and the Q train's direct route to Brighton Beach was an enticement. This was a good decision. The beach is HUGE - no fighting for space here, despite big crowds - and the sand is soft and clean. The water is a perfect temperature at this time of year, and the (very) Russian neighborhood offers plenty of post-swim snacks for super cheap - think piroshki for $1.25 at any of the stands along Brighton Avenue (gluttons that we are, we tried three to compare - meat, cabbage, and potato...and then followed it up with blueberry and cheese pastries, for an extra $1 each).

If you aren't hungry (then I'm not able to relate to you), there's plenty of free entertainment in the form of window-shopping (trivia: the literal translation of this phrase in French becomes "window-licking")...

...and wildlife observation...

...but more than anything else, a day in Brighton Beach, away from friends and neighborhood and grocery lists and computers and obligations and other people's air conditioning units dripping from above, helped us get back to us. Good day.

A Far Rockaway of the Q53 Bus

We finally caved in this morning when the 10 am temperature had surpassed 90, and set up the air conditioner. While my broke side hates the idea of giving Con Edison another cent on top of our already exorbitant bill, my newly married side likes to think it might be cool enough in our house someday to have a sex life again. Our whirring Samsung box o' magic in the window promises to deliver. My husband is looking better and better already.


Yesterday, though, we weren't quite ready to commit to electrically-generated bliss, and set off for a Bored and Broke Outdoor Adventure...to the beach! I tend to forget how close NYC actually is to real, honest to God OCEAN. When we tell friends that our expedition took us all the way to Rockaway Park, their universal response so far has been: "Whoa. That's a haul." And yes, they're not wrong, but it was worth it.



At the tip of the Rockaway Peninsula, just south of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (didn't know Queens had wildlife other than late night Ouzo-induced Greek dancing in Astoria, did you?), Rockaway Beach is technically part of the five boroughs, but it feels like it could be one of the less ritzy towns on Cape Cod. The beach is blessedly unglamorous - plenty of overweight ten year olds and leathery grandmas to balance out a smattering of bikini-clad teenagers posing for one another. The sand is soft, and because the beach is technically part of the NYC Parks & Rec Dept, it's not a total shithole. And Italian Ice vendors circulate constantly, much to the frustration of the many parents trying to rein in their hyperactive preteens.


We packed chopped up watermelon to help deter ourselves from buying junk food on the boardwalk - the easiest way in the world to save money is to BRING YOUR OWN FOOD. But if you're not that organized, visit the 11 day old Rockaway Taco on 96th Street and Rockaway Beach Blvd, next door to a fledgling organic produce stand that offers just-harvested carrots, small sweet potatoes, and beautiful strawberries. The menu is simple and cheap, and you can grab an iced coffee next door afterward at Jack's Coffee, which also opened at the end of May.

And as it turns out, seems as though we're not the only ones who have sun and waves on the brain this weekend. When our next Con Ed bill comes in, we're shutting off the A/C and heading back to the beach. An awesome cheap day.

To get there: Take A train to Broad Channel (one stop past JFK airport). Wait on the same platform for S shuttle train and take that two stops to 98th street. The beach is a 2 minute walk from there. Another option: we took the R train to the Q53 bus from Astoria, which is a nice ride through the Jamaica Bay marshes. (It's nice to be above ground for your transit every now and again, isn't it? Makes you feel less rodent-like.)

**Update, 6/30/10: that produce stand that I mentioned is getting some attention! It's apparently called Veggie Island, and is described in yesterday's Times.