Fights at NYC pools spark safety concerns

Reports of fights at the city's public pools has not deterred swimmers from taking a dip.

One parks advocate, however, says he's concerned the incidents, which have led to arrests and more police presence at pools, are a sign of bad things to come this summer.

Geoffrey Croft, the president of the nonprofit parks watchdog group NYC Park Advocates, said the pools lack proper staff to maintain order as the city has cut 100 Parks Department officers, or 42 percent of its force, in the last four years because of budget cuts.

"They have really dropped the ball when it comes to security," he said.

On Wednesday, a 22-year-old man was arrested on allegations of throwing a lifeguard into the water at John Jay Pool on the Upper East Side, police said. The Manhattan arrest came days after two alleged scuffles at Brooklyn's McCarren Pool, which just opened last week.

Several poolgoers said they weren't scared by the antics of a few bad seeds.

"I read those reports and I was cautious, but it's really just kids doing small roughhousing," said Amanda Wolff, 24, of Williamsburg, who visited the pool twice this week.

More uniformed and plainclothes officers were deployed to McCarren after the second incident and there were no reported complaints there since, the NYPD said.

Croft added that similar incidents have taken place at other pools over the past few weeks, including at Central Park's Lasker Pool, the largest of the 70 public pools in the city. He predicted similar mishaps will continue throughout the summer.

James Hennessey, 55, of Williamsburg, who swam in the original McCarren Pool before its 28-year closure, agreed and said the city needs to beef up security.

A spokeswoman for Parks Department said the McCarren and John Jay incidents were isolated and all their pools have a large security team.