Queens pools open for fun

Hot outside - are you looking for a way to beat the heat?
Head to one of Queens' four pools - three outdoor and one indoor - suggests City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.
&#8220The best place to beat the heat is a cool pool,” Benepe said, on Friday, June 29, hours after the city's 52 outdoor pools officially opened for the summer.
In Queens, the Fisher, Liberty and Astoria Pools are all open for business, generally from the hours of 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily. The Astoria Pool, the city's largest and the site of the 1936 and 1964 Olympic swimming trials closes down for an hour in the middle of the day - from 3 until 4 p.m. The Roy Wilkins Park Pool is the only indoor one in Queens.
Plus, Benepe said the borough boasts one of the city's best beaches - Rockaway, which stretches between Beach 1st Street in Far Rockaway to Beach 149th Street in Neponsit and has more than 165 acres of sand, boardwalk and summer fun.
The beach season began the Friday before Memorial Day weekend and will officially end on Labor Day, and throughout the three months, lifeguards will be on duty from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
&#8220The best thing about the pools and beaches is that they are free,” Benepe said, remembering when adults and kids were once charged a quarter and a dime respectively to go for a swim.
Now pool and beach-goers need only their bathing suit, a towel and occasionally a lock, to secure their belongings while they are in the water.
Benepe credited city lifeguards, 1,000 of which have already reported to duty this summer, with keeping Queens swimmers safe. He expects that number to grow to 1,100 by summer's end.
However, those planning to go for a dip should also practice common sense safety precautions like keeping an eye on little ones and not drinking alcohol before swimming.
&#8220Whether you go to a beach or pool, never go in the water unless there is a lifeguard present,” Benepe said, adding that those who aren't strong swimmers should stay in the shallow water.
Little ones looking to improve their paddling skills can sign up to one of the Parks Department's &#8220Learn to Swim” classes, offered at all three of the borough's outdoor pools.
Starting Friday, July 6, the Parks Department will offer three free swim instruction sessions, each 3 weeks in length for kids one-and-a-half to 14-years-old.
Children who have already mastered the basic strokes can sign up for a swim team, starting Tuesday, July 1, and train for the city's Eighth Annual Five-Boroughs Championship Swimming Competition on Saturday, August 11.
For adults, the Astoria Pool also hosts adult &#8220Lap Swim” programs in the morning from 7 until 8:30 a.m. &#8220For many years, we had a big mosh pit for kids and adults,” Benepe said, explaining why Parks opted to create separate swim programs.
On Sunday, July 1, the kids and parents packed the Astoria Pool, situated alongside Triborough Bridge, despite cooler temperatures in the mid-80s.
Astoria natives Oshea Boowa, 13, and Jose Vega, 9, paddled around the three-foot-deep water of the Astoria pool, going under the surface and waving wildly for an underwater camera.
Both said that their favorite part of the summer season was jumping in the water and going for a swim.
&#8220Look at me. I'm doing the doggy paddle,” Vega shouted as he bobbed along in the water, nearby to seven-year-old Allejandro Baltodano. Baltodano, a Corona resident, practiced his belly flop technique for several minutes straight.
At 3 p.m. when the whistle blew, all the swimmers were asked to exit the pool, but each found a spot on a wall outside and waited until 4 p.m. for another chance in the frigid water.