The ultra-cool Kosciusko Pool in 1974 (before the new dress code.) Photo by Danny Lyons.

I held out going to public pools like I held out on getting an AC unit, but eventually concluded that cold water immersion beat any E-coli I might contract. After I stopped obsessing over what bodily excretions might be swimming with me, I was actually pleasantly surprised at the resources Brooklyn has poured into its pools. And at the moment, they sure beat the ocean, with four local beaches closed due to elevated bacteria levels stemming from last week’s Hudson sewage spills. (more…)