Pools, Street Furniture Are Boro Board Concerns
BY RICHARD GENTILVISO

With temperatures rising and school about to let out, Queens pools will officially open for summer this week on June 29. Astoria Pool, one of the largest pool complexes in the country, if not the largest, will once again host up to 2,170 bathers at a time seehing relief in the 1 to 3 million gallons of water within the 54,500 square foot pool, watched over by 17 lifeguards. This year, Astoria Pool will also feature two new family rooms and a new shade structure to provide some respite from the sun.

"There is over 4,500 of open space [at Astoria Pool]. It gets hot," Ronald Goddard, manager of Queens Pools for the Department of Parks and Recreation said at the June meeting of the borough cabinet.

Liberty Pool and Fisher Pool, the borough's other outdoor pools, in addition to four mini-pools, will also open this week.

On Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 a.m., "Lear to Swim" Programs will be held at Astoria Pool. Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death among children, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. For information on Learn to Swim programs call 718-699-4219.

Other summer recreation programs and activities offered through the Department

of Parks and Recreation are available at various recreation centers, some of which also have summer camp programs. There is also a new free citywide fitness walking program for people of all ages called "Step Out New York" in Astoria Park. For information go to www.nyc.gov/parks.

In a second presentation to the borough cabinet, Kerry Gould, deputy policy advisor for the city Department of Transportation (DOT) Division of External Affairs, said the contract with a private company that will put 3,500 new bus stop shelters, 330 newsstands and 20 automatic public toilets on city streets is almost completed.

Cemusa, a Spanish street furniture company with worldwide credentials, will invest more than $100 million to replace and add to the city's existing street furniture inventory over a 20-year term. For example, in the first year, 650 new bus stops, 110 newsstands and 10 automatic public toilets will be installed. Cemusa will also be responsible for ongoing cleaning and maintenance of structures they install. The automatic public toilets will cost 25 to enter, which will give a user 15 minutes to complete their business before the door automatically reopens. The self-cleaning bathrooms will not be open at night.

The City of New York is guaranteed a minimum compensation of $1 billion in cash and a 50 percent share of revenues from advertising, Twenty two and a half percent of the advertising will be reserved for public service announcements, promotion of city events and agency or marketing initiatives. The DOT will make a final presentation to the city Art Commission on June 28 and then will work on finalizing the placement of bus stops, newsstands and automatic public toilets for the first year of the 20-year contract with Cemusa. The DOT will also conduct a community outreach effort this summer concerning the initial placement of automatic public toilets. "We want public toilets in communities where [the prospective users] want them," Gould said.