Lynbrook pool opens for the season

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Residents from Lynbrook and Rockville Centre can now cool off on a hot summer day in the Lynbrook pool, which opened full-time for the summer on June 18.

To enjoy the pool, Lynbrook and Rockville Centre residents have to present two proofs of residency to the Lynbrook Recreation Center. One of these proofs of residency must be photo identification. “You can come in any time and sign up,” said Patrick McDermott, the Lynbrook park supervisor.

A family membership costs Village of Lynbrook residents $365, and costs residents of the unincorporated part of Lynbrook $470. An individual plan for an adult Village of Lynbrook resident is $170 for the season, and costs an adult from the unincorporated part of Lynbrook $200. The Recreation Department offers 10 percent discounts for veterans and members of the fire department.

Rockville Centre residents have to pay more, however. For a family plan, they are required to pay $780, and an individual plan costs $520. As of press time, about 25 of the 100 family memberships that are available to Rockville Centre residents have been purchased, according to Lynbrook Mayor Bill Hendrick.

The Rockville Centre residents are allowed to use the pool because of a 2015 agreement between the two villages. Before this agreement, Rockville Centre residents were petitioning their village’s elected officials to build a pool. Instead, Mayor Francis X. Murray called Lynbrook Mayor Bill Hendrick to work out an agreement. Hendrick said Murray noticed how successful Lynbrook’s pool was.

Murray said that residents had written to him expressing their desire not to build a pool because they did not want increased taxes. So, Murray and Hendrick came to an agreement that 100 family memberships would be available to Rockville Centre residents at a higher cost. “We think outside the box here up on this board,” Murray told the Herald in 2015.

Hendrick said he agreed to allow Rockville Centre residents to use the pool because some Rockville Centre children attend schools in Lynbrook. He also said that the Town of Hempstead encourages villages to share services. In fact, Hendrick said, the village is considering having a discussion with Rockville Centre officials about sharing salt for the winter. “If we can accommodate everybody, it might be a good idea,” he said.

The pool is now open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day of the week through Sept. 4.

East Rockaway residents can cool off this summer by joining the Hewlett Point Park pool. District residents who do not live in an incorporated village are charged $226.50 for a family membership and $121 for an individual seasonal rate. Non-district residents, those who live in incorporated villages, are charged $266 for a family and $145 for an individual.