Funny, of the 630+ blog posts GA's written since March 2010 the one that people seem to remember is what I wrote last summer while lamenting Hoboken's lack of a community pool.
Oh, right: we have one of those. How many of you have swam in it? Not many GA readers are between the ages of 5 and 12.
Let me be more specific: how many Hoboken TAXPAYERS have been in it? And I mean actual Hoboken taxpayers, not their dependent children.
I rest my case.
Now, a school of thought prevails among some of the loftier socioeconomic demographic that a community pool exists to serve THEM, a.k.a. low income residents who can't afford summer camp, vacation rentals, trips to exotic places.
To those folks I say: get real. YOU need to get out more.
Towns and villages all over America provide their communities with world-class swimming facilities. For all members of their community.
That's the kind of amenity local governments of populous towns SHOULD and CAN provide for the public.There is NO EXCUSE for not having one HERE.
NO EXCUSE.
The new census data has our town at 50K+ residents. You will see in the post reprinted below what OUR government has provided for our swollen ranks. A tin backyard bucket.
This is truly a disgrace. Asking the profit-driven private sector to provide what government ought to is a big mistake. And why we have NOTHING.
OK, it's not nothing.
It's an over-sized metal garbage can filled with water. Not much bigger than the one my parents had in our Queens backyard. Only we were 5 people-- that's 49,995 less than Hoboken.
GA's been to community pools that rival any you'll find in the private sector. On Long Island and here in NJ. In fact, one of our neighbors...
You'll see.
GA's readership has skyrocketed from a year ago, so for those who missed this one it's reprinted below. For a reason: if you live and pay taxes in Hoboken, here's what your government is doing for you.
And after you read it, there was a 'Part 2' here.
___________________________________________________
July 25, 2010
Secaucus Swim Center
Yesterday I visited Hoboken's public pool at the Boys and Girls Club (123 Jefferson) to check out the facilities, and boy was I impressed!
I wrote all about it here.
It's one thing to be stuck paying astronomical Hoboken taxes, but another to know our money is being spent on such luxuries as an aluminum backyard pool that can provide our population of 40,000 with minutes of summer fun!
And that is one astro turf-trimmed dream.
Who knew it could sustain the weight of our town's entire youth population when they turned out yesterday for a dip? This is one of the hottest summers on record, so thank goodness we have a big bucket 'o tin to keep us cool.
If you are 12 years old or under, that is.
Are you?
If so, then you can go in our public pool. But if you are 4 or under, no can do.
And here it is:
Hoboken's public pool at the Boys and Girls Club
Wow. Just, wow.
Now that you've seen the luxury your tax dollars have bought you, I have another NJ municipality's pool facility to show you. For comparison. And when you see it, you'll realize how lucky we are in Hoboken.
Wait until you see this dump.
The Secaucus Swim Center, which is located in the nearby town of Secaucus, New Jersey.
I was curious to go since many parents talked about it yesterday as they baked in the sun waiting for their child's 5-minute shift in our pool.
They muttered things like "can you believe that pool in Secaucus?" and "why do we always have to swim in Secaucus ?" and "this doesn't compare to the one they have in Secaucus!' It was obvious from such remarks that the Secaucus facility simply couldn't measure up to that prefabricated bucket of backyard fun Hoboken provides for us. I simply had to check it out.
Oh, the horror. As I said above wait until you see this dump that the taxpayers of Secaucus have to put up with.
I'll give you a tour.
Here's the first pool (there are 2 more plus a water park feature for tots)
Awful!
And that big, blue wiggly thing in the back... what the hell is it?
Here's a close-up:
Who would think of throwing their child down a garbage chute?
Thank goodness we don't have anything like that for our hot, bored Hoboken children.
Next is the diving pool:
Who needs that? A bunch of kids waiting to jump off a plank? Ridiculous. Thank goodness Hoboken doesn't have one of those.
Another view:
Can you stand it? If not, look away. I'm about to show you the lap pool.
Adults only. So if you can't stand noisy little critters- like the ones that get to swim in Hoboken instead of you-- then this pool is for you.
Another view:
And that water is so.... blue. Yuk.
Now that you've seen Secaucus' 3 swimming pools, here's their 'waterpark feature' for tots:
Not impressed. Are you?
Another view:
Now I urge you, readers to look at what our town has done for us... and thank your lucky stars for Hoboken's generosity.
If you don't believe me, take a look at this side-by-side view of Hoboken's public pool and one at the Seacaucus Swim Center.
Well? Where would you rather swim?
Hands down, I'd rather swim in our bucket! Only I can't.
I'm over 12.
Oh, right: we have one of those. How many of you have swam in it? Not many GA readers are between the ages of 5 and 12.
Let me be more specific: how many Hoboken TAXPAYERS have been in it? And I mean actual Hoboken taxpayers, not their dependent children.
I rest my case.
Now, a school of thought prevails among some of the loftier socioeconomic demographic that a community pool exists to serve THEM, a.k.a. low income residents who can't afford summer camp, vacation rentals, trips to exotic places.
To those folks I say: get real. YOU need to get out more.
Towns and villages all over America provide their communities with world-class swimming facilities. For all members of their community.
That's the kind of amenity local governments of populous towns SHOULD and CAN provide for the public.There is NO EXCUSE for not having one HERE.
NO EXCUSE.
The new census data has our town at 50K+ residents. You will see in the post reprinted below what OUR government has provided for our swollen ranks. A tin backyard bucket.
This is truly a disgrace. Asking the profit-driven private sector to provide what government ought to is a big mistake. And why we have NOTHING.
OK, it's not nothing.
It's an over-sized metal garbage can filled with water. Not much bigger than the one my parents had in our Queens backyard. Only we were 5 people-- that's 49,995 less than Hoboken.
GA's been to community pools that rival any you'll find in the private sector. On Long Island and here in NJ. In fact, one of our neighbors...
You'll see.
GA's readership has skyrocketed from a year ago, so for those who missed this one it's reprinted below. For a reason: if you live and pay taxes in Hoboken, here's what your government is doing for you.
And after you read it, there was a 'Part 2' here.
___________________________________________________
July 25, 2010
Secaucus Swim Center
Yesterday I visited Hoboken's public pool at the Boys and Girls Club (123 Jefferson) to check out the facilities, and boy was I impressed!
I wrote all about it here.
It's one thing to be stuck paying astronomical Hoboken taxes, but another to know our money is being spent on such luxuries as an aluminum backyard pool that can provide our population of 40,000 with minutes of summer fun!
And that is one astro turf-trimmed dream.
Who knew it could sustain the weight of our town's entire youth population when they turned out yesterday for a dip? This is one of the hottest summers on record, so thank goodness we have a big bucket 'o tin to keep us cool.
If you are 12 years old or under, that is.
Are you?
If so, then you can go in our public pool. But if you are 4 or under, no can do.
And here it is:
Hoboken's public pool at the Boys and Girls Club Wow. Just, wow.
Now that you've seen the luxury your tax dollars have bought you, I have another NJ municipality's pool facility to show you. For comparison. And when you see it, you'll realize how lucky we are in Hoboken.
Wait until you see this dump.
The Secaucus Swim Center, which is located in the nearby town of Secaucus, New Jersey.
I was curious to go since many parents talked about it yesterday as they baked in the sun waiting for their child's 5-minute shift in our pool.
They muttered things like "can you believe that pool in Secaucus?" and "why do we always have to swim in Secaucus ?" and "this doesn't compare to the one they have in Secaucus!' It was obvious from such remarks that the Secaucus facility simply couldn't measure up to that prefabricated bucket of backyard fun Hoboken provides for us. I simply had to check it out.
Oh, the horror. As I said above wait until you see this dump that the taxpayers of Secaucus have to put up with.
I'll give you a tour.
Here's the first pool (there are 2 more plus a water park feature for tots)
click on any photo to enlarge
Awful!
And that big, blue wiggly thing in the back... what the hell is it?
Here's a close-up:
Who would think of throwing their child down a garbage chute? Thank goodness we don't have anything like that for our hot, bored Hoboken children.
Next is the diving pool:
Who needs that? A bunch of kids waiting to jump off a plank? Ridiculous. Thank goodness Hoboken doesn't have one of those.
Another view:
Can you stand it? If not, look away. I'm about to show you the lap pool.
Adults only. So if you can't stand noisy little critters- like the ones that get to swim in Hoboken instead of you-- then this pool is for you.Another view:
And that water is so.... blue. Yuk.
Now that you've seen Secaucus' 3 swimming pools, here's their 'waterpark feature' for tots:
Not impressed. Are you?Another view:
Now I urge you, readers to look at what our town has done for us... and thank your lucky stars for Hoboken's generosity.
If you don't believe me, take a look at this side-by-side view of Hoboken's public pool and one at the Seacaucus Swim Center.
Well? Where would you rather swim?
Hands down, I'd rather swim in our bucket! Only I can't.
I'm over 12.
Yet another Hoboken perversity....
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a Levittown clone. The "ticky-tackies" were built on what had once been an amusement park. With a huge, round concrete swimming pool. The developers left that, with a nice amount of grounds. It was (& still is) an amazing community pool for all.
I've posted this before, but someone might want to sleuth the pool on top of the muni garages by Marine View. I believe that was supposed to be a community pool. Somehow, it became MVT's private pool. It's not big, but it's something. And wasn't one of the developer's in one of the western redevelopment zones supposed to provide a community pool as part of a PILOT deal?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this "best of" post, but at the same time I hope it isn't coming to that yet. As long as I have my way, we aren't letting GA fall back on her classics or reduce her caseload! But the fact is worth repeating - Hoboken is 150 years old and still doesn't have a decent community pool. How much tax money has disappeared down some rabbit hole for it to have come to that? I repeat: one hundred and fifty years. And to be fair, who got his behind down to this photo op in a show of giving a good goddam? Mr Occhipinti. Wrap your brain around that! Where is everyone else's indignation? At any rate, we really shouldn't be surprised or think of people "who have options" as snobs that clear out out of Hoboken as soon as they have kids. It's just harder than it should be to live here. Hoboken remains a running joke, a disgrace, and a work in progress where hope springs eternal. I just call it home, just because, just because well really I don't know. I'm just dense, a romantic or a creature of habit; you pick 'em. Keep doing that voodoo that you do, GA.
ReplyDelete