After a brief respite from the heat, the high temps have returned, and we’re wishing we were in a swimming pool. The New York Times posted a piece lauding the 52 very free, very cool NYC public pools, many of which are uptown. The thought of seeing laughing kids peeing in the (chlorinated!) water gives us joy on this hot night.
The writer took a tour of the pools, but also seems to have fallen in love with some uptown street food:
You can walk dripping wet out of Highbridge Pool, in Washington Heights, and within a single block browse a smörgåsbord of Dominican food. There is a fruit stand selling containers of sliced mangoes for $2; and if you’re thirsty, a man with a machete will chop open a coconut and stick a straw in it. Nearby, a woman sells johnnycakes, fried, flat dough snacks, for $1 apiece from her shopping cart, along with the popular Dominican fruit shake known as morir soñando (“to die dreaming”), made from oranges, milk, sugar and chopped ice. Outside the bathhouse trucks parked at the curb sell chimichurri (meat sandwiches) and steaming plates of chicken, pork or beef with rice and beans.
Which pools do you all frequent? Do you like using the public pools, or is running through fire hydrants a faster way to cool off? Which pools have the best food nearby? What are some other good ways to cool off in the summer?
Related: NYTimes
Helin loves Harlem, Boy Shakira, burgers, tacos, and smoothies. Also, letters — e-mail her! helin@uptownflavor.com
J
July 27, 2007
There’s that pool right off 145th -near Amsterdam ave- that I’ve been wanting to hit up.
bossydiva
July 27, 2007
As a Harlem resident for 30 years…As a kid there was nothing like dipping into Colonel (pronounced Co-lo-ni-al) pool on 146 and Bradhurst.
We lived to go to that pool!