+ POOL Press Kit
+ POOL
Coverage
FAQ
1
What is + POOL?
+ POOL is a New York City initiative to build a water filtering pool that you can swim in.
2
How will + POOL work?
Like a giant strainer dropped into the river, + POOL will filter bacteria and contaminants through the concentric layers of filtration materials that make up the walls of the pool itself – leaving only clean, safe, and swimmable river water. The Olympic-size pool will filter over 600,000 gallons of river water daily, making a measurable contribution towards cleaning the city’s waterways.
3
Who is + POOL for?
Everybody! We want + POOL to be enjoyed by Everybody, at all times, which is why it is designed as four pools in one: Children’s Pool, Sports Pool, Lap Pool and Lounge Pool.
4
Who are the creators of + POOL?
+POOL was co-founded by designers Dong-Ping Wong and Oana Stanescu of Family New York, and designers Archie Lee Coates IV and Jeffrey Franklin of PlayLab, Inc.
5
What are the motivations for + POOL?
To get into the river. The project was launched with the ambition to improve the use of the city’s natural resources by providing a clean and safe way for the public to swim in New York’s waters.
6
Do floating pools already exist?
Yes, of course, but none that filter the water in which they float! Floating pools paralleled the development of New York City dating back to the early 19th Century when the city’s elite used floating spas located just off the Battery in lower Manhattan. After the Civil War, the huge influx of immigrants required bathhouses in the Hudson and East Rivers as many were without proper bathing facilities in their homes. By the early 1900s, water quality concerns eventually closed the last of the river pools, relocating aquatic leisure activities to more sanitized and inland sites. In 1972, the Clean Water Act set forth the goal of making every body of water in the country safe for recreation. In 2007, the Floating Pool Lady – a reclaimed barge now located in the Bronx – brought back the first semblance of New York’s floating pool culture in almost a century. Some of our favorite floating pools across the world are Badeschiff in Berlin, Josephine Baker in Paris, and Islands Brygge in Copenhagen.
7
When will + POOL be built?
+ POOL aims to be in the water as soon as possible. Once the city offers us a site to install, we’ll make our final, site-specific detailed design documents and begin the long and arduous process of getting the required city and state approvals. This is a large, ground-up endeavor, but we have the massive amount of public support that can only mean we’re heading in the right direction.
8
What has + POOL done so far?
We’ve been busy! Meetings, tests, more meetings, presentations, design, and even more meetings. We’ve worked with engineers at Arup to study the structure, mechanics, and filtration systems, and ecological consultants at One Nature to maximize + POOL’s benefit to the environment. We’ve spent six weeks on a pier in the East River testing different filtration materials and learned about enterococci and fecal coliform from professors at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. We’ve worked with innovation designers at IDEO and we began working with naval architects Persak & Wurmfeld to design + POOL’s floating structure. We tested the full filtration system in the harbor for five months and proved our filtration concept works. And we gained the support of city and state agencies, open-water swimmers, waterfront advocacy organizations, and over 5,000 incredible supporters who pledged money through Kickstarter, events, and our nonprofit.
9
What happens to all the stuff that's filtered out?
There are a few options that we’re exploring, from catchment cartridges that can be removed and taken to waste treatment; to employing floating wetlands and oyster reefs to aid in waste removal. Dong likes the idea of displaying some of the gunk for educational purposes, but he’s pretty much the only one. Because that would be gross.
10
How does + POOL stay in place?
It will be tethered to the river bed which will allow it to raise and lower with the tides and waves. It will also make it easier to move around if needed. The slowest water taxi in the world, anyone?
11
What will happen during a hurricane?
Since the pool will be floating and tethered to the river bed, it can be designed to ride the waves and surges of a storm, similar to a boat. And like any good project, it will be assessed and engineered for worst case scenarios. A main challenge is to prevent other debris from washing into and colliding with the pool during a massive storm. There are protective measures we can employ, or perhaps we can just redesign the anchors and footings for every structure in the river!
12
How can I support + POOL?
Buy a tile, build a pool. Otherwise, got a question? Ask us (info at pluspool.com)!
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Policy
Revised by the Board of Directors on February 21, 2022.
Summary Statement
+ POOL embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a moral imperative that is an important part of providing free and safe access to the river for everybody.
Definitions
Diversity is the voice and presence of different identities – including race, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, disability, and sexual orientation – together in a setting.
Inclusion means that people with different identities are valued, welcomed, and given opportunities. Inclusion is necessary to create a diverse and equitable environment.
Equity is a right and a process that makes sure that everyone in or affected by the organization can contribute, develop, and grow.
Context
DEI is mission-critical to ensure the well-being of the communities + POOL serves. Thus, its DEI policies and practices are meant to foster a foundation of access, opportunity, innovation, trust, respect, and relationship-building. All people need to feel that they are included, welcome, and that they belong and are supported. The diversity of New York City’s
population, including individual differences, life experiences, inventiveness, and self- expression will inform + POOL’s reputation and achievements. + POOL acknowledges the impact of bias and in response adopts an inclusive policy that creates learning environments, cultural affirmation, and connection between different identities to elevate historically marginalized voices to empower social change.
+ POOL’s community engagement practices (see below) are based on trust, confidence, and respect. These practices will encourage community-building conversations and reduce language and thought barriers. To do this, + POOL will also strive to attract a diverse workforce and eliminate the use of terms and phrases that perpetuate negative stereotypes. The organization will also work to ensure access to + POOL’s activities regardless of disability status, native language, income level, or any other basis. Diverse life experiences, heritages, and voices are valued and respected. Additionally, + POOL has adopted Universal Design principles from The Center for Universal Design to ensure its programs and projects follow its mission to provide equitable access to the East River for all New Yorkers. All + POOL designers, contractors and staff must assess design components using the guidelines listed in the “Universal Design Principles for + POOL” document. The guidelines cover equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort and size and space for approach and use. Please see the “Universal Design Principles for + POOL” document for further detail.
Governance
The + POOL Board is committed to DEI and will devote a portion of each quarterly Board meeting to reviewing progress towards DEI goals and intervening appropriately to help success in these goals. The DEI goals are listed in a separate document, “+ POOL DEI Goals.” Each year, the Board will nominate and approve a DEI sponsor and deputy from the pool of Board members. The Board DEI sponsor will, with the help of the DEI deputy and + POOL management team, track and report the DEI goals to the Board. The results of + POOL’s progress against DEI goals will also be available to the public.
Actions
Recruitment: Employees, Contractors, Board
+ POOL’s DEI initiatives are applicable – but not limited – to practices and policies on recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, professional development and training, promotions, transfers, and terminations. • + POOL will embrace and encourage employees / contractors / Board differences in age, color, disability, ethnicity,
family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make employees unique.
- Job postings and the slate of candidates interviewed will be inclusive.
- Non-traditional leaders, people of color, and people from traditionally underrepresented groups will be openly encouraged to apply.
- Bias will be removed from job descriptions by the hiring manager and recruiter (wording in job descriptions can impact whether more females or males apply; for example, research shows that “masculine” adjectives like “superior,” “competitive,” and “determined,” result in less female applicants).
- Sourcing networks will be expanded by looking at diversity-oriented job groups and diversity organization partnerships (including diversity-oriented groups at universities).
- Blind resume screening will be adopted and the interview team will be diverse.
- Objective hiring criteria will be defined in advance by the hiring manager based on the role and then the criteria will be scored (1-5) during the interview to support unbiased hiring.
- Transparency in how employees are leveled and promoted, including an assessment of employee performance based on preset factors consistent across other employees in similar job functions, will help ensure that employee reviews are fair and objective.
- Managers will have data in terms of where their employees stand in terms of pay for individuals of different identities. • Employees will also be informed of the low, median, and high pay ranges for their roles in their annual reviews • Formal remediation protocols for pay equity will be created and implemented.
+ POOL will commit time and resources towards attracting and maintaining a diverse and inclusive Board. + POOL will have flexible working policies providing support to caregivers, including childcare and eldercare-givers. Health care benefits and options for insurance packages that cover the specific health needs of women (e.g., gynecology, maternal health, reproductive health, cancer screens, domestic violence treatment) will be offered. Communication and conduct must be respectful and inclusive. + POOL will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, nor micro-aggressions in its workplace.
- Any employee or Board member found to have exhibited any inappropriate conduct or behavior against others may be subject to disciplinary action.
- Employees who believe they have been subjected to any kind of discrimination that conflicts with the company’s diversity policy and initiatives should seek assistance from a supervisor or a Board member. • Whistleblowers are protected through confidentiality and against retaliation. + POOL has a whistleblower policy, “Friends of + POOL Whistleblower Policy.”
Community Engagement
DEI is critical to + POOL’s mission and to ensuring the well-being of the communities served. Potential underlying unquestioned assumptions and systemic inequities that interfere with inclusiveness will be explored and openly discussed with the goal of finding solutions. Programs serving diverse communities will be implemented. • Also, + POOL will generate and aggregate data related to its diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts, and share this information on the organization’s website.
- The data will relate to the goals in the “+ POOL DEI Goals” document.
Part of + POOL’s mission is bringing public awareness – through communications, and its website, posts, and programs – to swimming safety, swimming equality, and underrepresented members of the swimming community. • Key promotional materials will be culturally sensitive. + POOL will also connect with organizations for
underrepresented constituents committed to diversity and inclusion efforts as part of its community engagement. • + POOL will develop and present sessions on diversity, inclusion, and equity to provide information and resources to the community relating to its programs.