It's great that the East River is so pretty.
It's definitely a pleasure to jog or relax beside it on a hot summer's day. But we'll be the first to admit that it's sort of a tease.
You see, the East River isn't actually refreshing because we can't actually swim in it.
And it's not just because of its current, which has the strength of a gold-medal Olympian, four times over. It's also because it's... you know... dirty AF.
Well, now there are plans in place to build a cross-shaped floating pool in the East River so people like us could swim in it.
This concept would employ a filtration system to cleanse the gross East River water, so it could be put to use in a swimmable pool.
A test laboratory in the Hudson River collected water data to see if this filtration system would be successful, and hallelujah, it was!
This project, titled +Pool, is sliding closer and closer to reality because of celebrity endorsements and fundraising efforts.
Now, according to their Kickstarter Page, this project's marine engineers and water quality experts are testing ten locations.
The potential locations where swimming bliss might occur are as follows: Bush Terminal Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo, Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Governors Island, Hallets Point in Astoria, Hudson River Park, Hunters Point in Long Island City, St. George in Staten Island, Transmitter Park in Greenpoint, and Two Bridges on the LES.
The pool's co-designer Archie Lee Coats said that once they decide where they'll put the pool, they'll "hand [site-specific final designs] off to the city, apply for permits, build this thing, and finally all swim in the river together."
Even though it takes a while to build things and acquire permits from the city, we're still extremely stoked about the progress that's been made on +Pool.
We're counting down the days until we can all splash around in the East River. For now, though, we'll have to stick to NYC's public and rooftop pools. (Not that that's a bad thing.)
Oh, yeah... and this absolutely inspiring video below.
Check out 6 More Spectacular Rooftop Bars You Should Hit Up to Enjoy Summertime in NYC.
[via Kickstarter]