Williamsburg residents on Wednesday rallied to push the city to reopen the Metropolitan Recreation Center that has been closed for over a year.
The New York City Parks Department closed the facility in January 2025 due to mechanical issues that resulted in poor dehumidification and air circulation, according to a statement on its website.
The rally coalesced several local nonprofits, community members and elected officials, all who adamantly pleaded to reopen the beloved pool, one of three indoor pools in the city. In attendance was a group of Orthodox Hasidic Jewish women who represent a significant demographic in this corner of northern Brooklyn.
The women told the BK Reader that the pool was used not only for health and exercise, but was a core part of their social life.
The pool had women-only swim sessions on select days of the week, and for religious purposes, the opportunity to swim in an all-female pool was a lifeline of sorts, the women said.
“We need the swimming like somebody else needs air to breathe,” said Helen Kleinman, 68.
Typically, the women-only session lasted an hour or two several times a week.
“We were so looking forward to it and even then we all made sure to arrange for these hours,” said Sarah Feckerton.
Feckerton, 64, said the pool hour was so important to her, she never booked an appointment on Mondays and Wednesdays.
“It was like a holy time for us,” she added.
Because swimming has little impact on joints, the women said the pool’s closure has left some of their physical ailments to worsen.
Rachel Brach, 74, said she misses the pool “so much.”
“It was so good for my knees and my back,” she added.
Representatives from the nonprofits New Yorkers for Parks, North Brooklyn Parks Alliance, Center for an Urban Future, and the Rising Tide Effect were in attendance, alongside Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Council Member Lincoln Restler.
Restler expressed his frustration over the temporary solutions to the preexisting problems in the weathered building.
The Parks Department spent too long prioritizing temporary solutions instead of moving efficiently with a long term capital project, he said.
“So now here we are, a year and a half later, and we’re still years away from the Met. Pool reopening. That is unacceptable. The Parks Department has failed us,” Restler said.
In a neighborhood that is now most known for its designer brand stores and chic coffee spots, the community recreation center is a central part of the lives of many long-time locals.
Marisa Bow, a Williamsburg resident, took the megaphone and aired out her grievances about the gentrified area.
“I’ve lived in this neighborhood for almost 40 years. Every day when I walk around I pass by a dozen really expensive gyms, regular gyms, specialty gyms, and I can’t afford any of them and probably none of us can either,” Bow said to cheers. “So we’re surrounded by rich people who can buy time at really fancy gyms but we don’t even get this one lousy gym, so what’s up?”
The Parks Department completed its design process for the pool’s dehumidification system but is only 85% of the way in its procurement stage, according to the NYC Parks Capital Project Tracker.
“This community is just tired of fighting for parks every single damn day, we’re over it,” said Reynoso.
