Q&A
Astoria Pool staffing and capacity challenges
1:13:19
·
4 min
Council Member Krishnan, on behalf of Council Member Caban, inquires about lifeguard shortages and long wait times at Astoria Pool. Commissioner Donoghue explains the situation and measures taken.
- Astoria Pool reopened after a $20 million renovation, leading to high demand
- The pool requires about 30 lifeguards for full operation
- By July, the pool was operating at 100% capacity, but demand still exceeded capacity
- Measures like wristbands and time limits were implemented to manage crowds
Shekar Krishnan
1:13:19
I'm now gonna turn it over.
1:13:21
Well, sorry, I will ask the questions on behalf of council member Keban who was on virtually, but because we don't have quorum, I'll have to ask the questions for it.
1:13:33
So these are council member Keban's questions regarding a story of Poole.
1:13:37
And I'm just gonna I'm gonna read them.
1:13:39
When the pool first opened for the summer, our office, Countsmer Keban's office, received an outpouring of community feedback, sharing that there was a chronic lifeguard shortage at Astoria Pool.
1:13:50
Can you please outline the steps that the parks department has taken to ensure that more lifeguards are hired and adequately trained.
Sue Donoghue
1:13:58
Thank you.
1:13:59
Yes, for the question.
1:14:01
And as I shared in my testimony, we've done an extensive amount of work to add more and add more recruits and bring more people into the pipeline, whether it be expanding the number of qualifying test sites, expanding to having those test sites be available in in the boroughs, offerings swim training, working with DOE in partnership, and it's what has led to, as I described, real success, we saw a 45% increase in new recruits from all of that work in that partnership.
Shekar Krishnan
1:14:43
Conservatives and district 22 provided feedback that during the 1st weeks of the pool opening, They were waiting up to 2 hours to be let inside to swim.
1:14:54
As also the park's chair and the neighboring district, I received a lot of those complaints as well from people in Queens, in my own district too, and I saw for myself firsthand on a number of occasions.
1:15:05
Waiting 2 hours to be let inside to swim.
1:15:08
Many constituents noted a lack of clear communication and management at the entry of the pool.
1:15:13
Could you please describe how many staff are needed to run the Astoria pool at full capacity?
Sue Donoghue
1:15:20
I know that I have that.
1:15:21
I I I think I have got it.
1:15:23
Yeah.
1:15:24
Yeah.
1:15:25
Thank you for that question.
1:15:28
We were so pleased to be able to reopen Astoria Pool after a nearly $20,000,000 renovation.
1:15:35
It's absolutely beautiful.
1:15:36
It's the biggest pool in the system.
1:15:38
Over a million gallons of water.
1:15:40
It's a beloved we know by the community.
1:15:42
Because it was closed last season, there's no doubt that there is a whole lot of pent up demand for that facility leading to lines, and it is it's a beautiful facility and one that we know is beloved by the community.
1:15:56
And so and it also, because it's the biggest pool in our system, takes about 30 lifeguards to run that facility.
1:16:03
So there's no doubt that at the beginning as we were adding staff, there were lines, But by July, we were able to open that at a 100 percent capacity.
1:16:14
There but even at a 100 percent capacity, there was still unmet demand because of the popularity of this pool.
1:16:20
And so what we do in those circumstances, we work really hard to make that line experience as pleasant as we possibly can.
1:16:29
And so we if there are lines, we'll often go to a a wrist band so that people what we do is we limit the amount of time in the pool instead of being there.
1:16:44
You know, for the full 4 hour session, we'll say people can be there for an hour.
1:16:47
We we have people leave so that we can let more people in on the line.
1:16:51
So people on the line can never wristband with someone to come back at a certain hour so that we can be able to accommodate as many people as possible at a very popular newly renovated pool.
Shekar Krishnan
1:17:04
So 30 life curves are needed to fully staff it.
1:17:06
So how many were there on call when the pool first opened?
Sue Donoghue
1:17:09
I'm not sure if we have that number.
1:17:11
Do we have that?
1:17:12
Yeah.
1:17:12
We can get back to you.
Shekar Krishnan
1:17:13
We can get information.
1:17:14
That's very helpful.
1:17:15
Much appreciated.
1:17:16
Does Parks plan to open the entire pool without closing down sections of the pool in summer 2025?
Sue Donoghue
1:17:23
We anticipate we'll do everything we can too.
1:17:25
That's why we're already focused on recruitment for 2025 and bringing in as many lifeguards as possible.
1:17:31
WE LOOK TO DO THAT AT ALL OF OUR POOLS.
1:17:33
ABSOLUTELY.
