Hold the phone. McCarren Park is getting an ice skating rink?!
It’s true! The McCarren Park Pool located on the Greenpoint-Williamsburg border will serve double duty, transforming into an ice rink during winter months. The rink will open on November 15 and will be the first of its kind in northern Brooklyn.
The rink will sit atop the concrete plaza that juts into the center of the pool (known as “The Beach” to swimmers). At 7,200 square feet it will accommodate more than 300 skaters.
The rink won’t be big enough for hockey leagues, but the parks department will offer classes, workshops and demonstrations in hockey, curling and figure skating. Time to get your Tara Lipinksi on, Greenpoint! The rink will also include a gift market and food carts.
If you don’t have skates, don’t worry. You’ll be able to rent them for $5. The rink will be open 11am to 10pm every day of the week through at least January depending on its popularity. Skating will cost $4 for children and $8 for adults. That’s a heck of a lot cheaper than Manhattan prices. Ice skating at Central Park’s Wollman Rink on the weekend will run you $18. Rockefeller Center? $27. And that’s not including the fee for skate rentals.
An ice-skating rink was part of the original $50 million pool reconstruction plan, but those plans fell through last year due to financial woes. According to The New York Times, park officials are hoping for success at the McCarren Park rink. Any revenue generated will go towards improving parks in northern Brooklyn.