Sunset Park Recreation Center

So when my friend, who lives in Sunset Park, suggested we go to the public pool, I was a bit dubious. Since she’d been there, though, I figured she would know what’s up and trusted her on this. I was so impressed and had a great lazy summer afternoon poolside.
The walk through the park itself to the Rec. area is enjoyable and once at the pool, you walk in and are shown a locker area out back. It’s required you lock up your belongings and only bring the basics to the pool: towel, sunscreen, sunglasses. They ask you to shower before entering the pool area, which is understandable.
The pool itself is huge, crystal blue and has an area blocked off specifically for lane swimming, away from the main area. Lots of families with kids, all having a lot of fun but nothing too rowdy going on. Tons of lifeguards present and everyone and everything seemed organized and respectful. The water was clean and there is lots of room to escape the playing children if you want to just float around and relax. For seating, there are only a small handful of lounge chairs. If you can’t snag one, there are cement bleachers to lay out on. That part wasn’t the greatest but the fact there even is a public pool of this caliber is enough of a win. If I lived nearby, I can see making this a regular jaunt to cool off during the steamy, humid Brooklyn summer. I was really blown away by how amazing this pool is-​from the way it’s run to the safety and cleanliness. Great neighborhood spot.

Spent the afternoon at this huge pool today and it was fantastic! As other reviewers have pointed out, there are strict rules but they’re pretty easy to follow. Be prepared to bring a school combination lock, a white shirt if you need a cover up and leave the gadgets for a few hours! I brought 2 towels, lotion, lip balm, a book, a white baseball hat & a reusable plastic water bottle with me to the pool. My other belongings were left in the locker. All of the staff were very pleasant to me & answered any questions I had. They have specific areas for lap swimmers and one for little kids. The main area was spacious enough to swim and play in without bumping into others! I had such a great time that I am going back tomorrow!

Nice pool… nasty ‘tude and harassed all the way into the water.
When I read the comment about draconian policies I was skeptical, but once I went there I knew how this person felt, sort of like being in one of those prison yards on «Lockdown Raw. Compton». I’ll walk you through it. It’s 10:30a and I see the sign saying the pool opens at 11a but the doors are open so I walk in to see a group of about 8 african american women and girls sitting down at a table. They were laughing and talking until the point when they saw me and suddenly the laughing and smiles are gone they were looking at me as if I’d just killed someone. «Is the pool opening at 11a? I saw the sign but just wanted to be sure before I sit out there for half an hour». Eyes rolled, faces were made…“It open’s at 11 sir”. That was my first taste of the general ‘tude at this place. Next up. cavity search… well not quite but it wouldn’t have surprised me. I got on line and watched as people’s bags were searched and they were asked a series of questions. The heavy set african american man checking everyone was really serious, not a hint of a smile and just seemed really unhappy to be there. Now remember, this is mostly children and their parents standing on line.
When it was my turn I just put my hands in the air like I was about to be frisked. He asked to see my lock and I felt pretty good about not being one of those people «who didn’t know :(„. Well guess what? my lock did not meet their standards. „This here is a luggage lock, you’ have to walk down to that store on the corner and get a real lock“ okay I said… it’s a luggage lock but you can’t open it“
sir, I can’t let you in with that lock». So I get off the line and walk to the store
I return with a new lock and I am finally allowed to enter with my young daughter. «Sir, you cannot wear that colored T-​shirt on the grounds, you have to take everything off» Okay, so now I walk to the locker, put my stuff away and proceed to walk to the pool. «Sir, you can’t bring that with you» «Bring what» I ask. He points to a wrap around my daughter has on which is basically a towel that I can wrap around my daughter. «That’s a wrap around and it’s not allowed». «This is a towel that I can wrap around my daughter» He answers.“You can’t take it with you”. I go back to the locker, lock it up and head back out. As I get near the showers there is someone sitting there directing me to shower. I shower and proceed to exit the building and there is someone else standing there checking me out whom I guess was just another layer of the lockdown raw team there to double check that I was clean. I look out at a huge pool with only 50 people, 22 life guards either sitting or walking around in circles, plus a few people in green shirts and two cops sitting under a canopy. I immediately hear a familiar life guard whistle and quickly turn to see the offender… a child about 6 years old running after his father. «beep beep!!! no running!» I decide to walk down a ramp leading into the water. On the way my daughter grabs the rail and tries to pull herself up. «beep beep… get off of there!» After a short swim with my daughter I come out and stand nearby to watch her. As I stand there a short heavy set african american kid waddles up to me. He was pretty nice with sort of a high pitched nerdy voice.
He looks at my swimming trunks for a second and then asks…“are those swimming trunks?” I answer trying to hold back my irritation «yeah…you like them? got them at Macy’s». He smiles and says «yeah, but do they have a lining?» Holy shit I think. I make it all this way and I’m about to get kicked out if I don’t have
a lining. This crap should have been done when I was standing on line. So I reach down into my crotch. exagerating my movements because I’m sure I may just get shot by the cops if I do anything unacceptable and I pull out my lining and show it to the nerd. I start telling him how crazy this place is and he agrees but says that no one there really wants to do what they’re doing and that it’s the city that makes all the rules. In a way I could understand how things need to be controlled. It’s a free city pool and they don’t want chaos, but there is a fine line
between enforcing rules and just harassing people which is what I feel is happening here. As our discussion concludes I see a lifeguard walking up to him to ask if there’s a problem. had there been yelling and violent gestures I could understand, but I was just talking to this person.scary. He waddles away to harass the next person he can find and I get my daughter and leave a few minutes later. So, you can come, but don’t run, splash, climb, run, don’t bring a cheap lock, don’t wear a colored t-​shirt, make suer your bathing suite has a lining, don’t talk too much to any of the staff, don’t ask questions, just get be really quiet and expect to be treated like a prisoner.

Miss Sarit and I came here for The Pool, which is a free public pool offered by NYC at Sunset Park.
I did not have very high expectations for a free, municipally ran public swimming pool. The pool itself was in good condition, and they let you use the showers in the recreation center which is an indoor basketball court that looks like it hasn’t seen much use for a while.
The area was clean, and there were plenty of lifeguards watching to ensure everyone’s safety (even if they did look 15 years old.)
The one major problem I had with it is the degrading experience of being told that you have to show the guards (?) in the mens locker room that you are not wearing underwear before they will let you in to the pool. I did not understand why they asked this, nor did I comply. I put up enough of a fight so they just said whatever and I walked in — but it was a very degrading experience nonetheless.
Classy.

this review is for the pool only. i haven’t checked out the other facilities.
i like public pools, i really do. i like that they exist, i like that they are free, i like that they are open to the public, and i like that you can swim in them.
that said, i believe public pools need to be maintained with a modicum of organization and responsibility. here is what i experienced when i visited the Sunset Park Rec Center Pool.
the google satellite shot is pristine. inspired by Phelps’s recent wins, i couldn’t wait to get in the lane side and swim some laps. i ordered my goggles from amazon, waited out two days of rain, and finally walked up the steps at nearly 11 on a friday morning.
i was promptly stopped by a gate guard who told me the pool didn’t open until 11, but then told me to go in anyway, that the lifeguards would be right in.
i did, and was stopped by a park security officer wearing what i believe to be way too many accessories in his military belt, among which included a billy club, handcuffs, various screwdrivers and widgety looking kits, a leatherman or two, several yards of boating rope, and a few hard plastic boxes containing who-​knows-​what. no german shepherd k9 dog by his side, but it would have fit the image. the park officer glared at me and told me to return to the gate line, that the pool was not open yet. i informed him that the gate guard had let me in, to which he replied, «Only to use the bathroom, I’m sure.» i’d only just met him, and didn’t feel right sharing my bathroom needs or non-​needs with him, so i sullenly returned to the front. the gate guard looked at me like i was a child who’d just run away from school and asked me why i was back already.
a few park employees milled about outside looking up at the cloudy sky and quipped about whether or not it would rain. i worked at a pool when i was 13. rainy days are paid off days.
finally they let me in, i showed another guard that i’d brought my lock, shoved my stuff in a locker and headed around (and around) through the bathrooms being monitored by two park employees, through the world war II era communal showers to the emergency exit which led to the farthest corner of the pool from the lap lanes.
crossing the pool deck, past the 25 lifeguards, i found a lounge chair, left my towel and shoes on it, and hopped in the pool. the temperature wasn’t bad, given that it was a windy day, but it wasn’t refreshing had it been a hot day. i made some pleasantries with the lifeguard, though he seemed not to hear me, and paddled down my lane. and then back up. and down again. i got in a few laps before the rains came, maybe 10 before the first big thunderclap, which brought several lifeguards to the edge of the pool tittering about who would call it. i hopped out and was already back in the gas chambers, i mean bathrooms, before the deafening tweets of their whistles could reach my ears. i opened my combination lock to and pulled my bag and shorts out along with 3 genuine new york shitty cucarachas, and scurried myself the hell out of there faster than the rains could soak me.

I use the gym here all the time and it works great for me. The people are cool too.
However during school year evenings, the gym does get busier and you may have to wait for your machine.
If you like cardio, get running shoes and go run around Greenwood cemetary. It’s a great 4 miles. Or there are some treadmills inside.

As a gym, this place fails. There are 2 treadmills and one stepper — that’s all the cardio machines they have. There is an outdoor pool. The fitness room just disappoints in every single way. There are no locker rooms. You change in a bathroom you would be scared to inhale through the mouth in.
The lockers here are small, about a cubic foot at best.
However, if you love ping pong, this is just great. This place has not 1, not 2, not 3, (too lazy to count up) but 7 Ping Pong tables. This place never goes silent due to the smacking back and forth of ping pong balls. I’m not sure if you have to bring your own or what.
The first time I went there, there were kids in the front playing soccer. They were polite, but if they’re allowed to play soccer in the front, I expect that every once in a while, a ball gets out of their control and probably hits someone or someone’s car. Thankfully, they’re all under 10 and probably have weak kicks.