QUESTION
How does the NYC Parks Department address water safety and plan to expand pool access?
0:33:33
·
101 sec
The NYC Parks Department discusses their water safety initiatives and plans for expanding pool access to enhance swimming education and safety awareness, particularly in underserved communities.
- The department emphasizes the importance of water safety through various programs, including international awareness efforts.
- Water safety workshops are provided citywide, focusing on raising awareness and educating youths on being safe in and around the water.
- Initiatives include activities beyond pool settings, such as classroom workshops, to reach a broader audience.
- Council Member Mercedes Narcisse highlights the need for equitable access to pools and the significance of swimming education.
- The department is open to expanding water safety education outside pool environments, enhancing awareness and safety.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:33:33
So what I'm getting at is in equities and when it come to pools because a lot of our children, they don't know how to swim, and we end up losing them when they go out in in a picnic because they're trying to swim.
0:33:45
And swimming is very important, especially under in their underserved communities.
0:33:51
Right?
Emily Chase
0:33:52
What safely if I may, why water safety, we try to keep it as an important part of all of our programs.
0:33:57
So those dry land activities that focus not only on what you're doing in the pool, to improve your swim skills, but information for families to keep people safe in and around the water, whether it's on a boat or near Pond Lake Beach even outside New York City.
0:34:11
So look focusing on those overall concepts to help kids as well.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:34:14
That was gonna be my next
Iris Rodriguez-Rosa
0:34:15
question.
0:34:16
Okay.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:34:16
The water safety awareness.
0:34:18
How you do it, where you do it.
0:34:20
Do you do it around where they have pools or you do it throughout the city or you're trying to do it with a park?
0:34:26
You know, even though we don't have no pools, maybe we can be aware of the safety.
Emily Chase
0:34:31
I think that's a great idea.
0:34:33
Thank you so much.
0:34:34
We as I said, May 15th is International Water Safety Awareness Day.
0:34:39
I referenced this before.
0:34:41
Each year, citywide aquatics offers workshops supporting the cause of raising global awareness of drownings and educating youth, how to be safe in and around the water.
0:34:50
On occasion, we've run other workshops outside of the pool setting, like, in classrooms, and that's something that I always encourage our team to do with, you know, within our capacity.
0:35:00
And we'd love to talk more about how we can expand
Mercedes Narcisse
0:35:02
Yeah.
0:35:03
But my speaker have a plan, and I hope that plan come to reality very soon to have pools all over throughout our city.
0:35:10
Of New York to the city of New York.
0:35:12
Thank you.
0:35:12
Thank you so much.
0:35:13
Thank you.