Astoria Park Pool

Largest pool I’ve ever seen in my life. Divided into sections like a Piet Mondrian by lane dividers.

Give it a one star for the female employees they are a rude they get on power trips. I will not bring my electronics or keys or anything in the locker I leave it at home my nephews girlfriend left her phone in the locker which it was broken into and they stole everything and I mean everything including underwear, disgusting, and the female employees said it’s not their liability and that it was” tough”. And the people whole stole the phone kept calling my the family cursing them out etc. I feel a big change should be in order from the way the employees speak to you and how sanitary the place should be 2 of my friends got cut in the pool and the locker and shower room are disgusting yea it’s free and maybe that’s why it looks like that, for that charge to get in I mean they
You charge 8 dollars for a swim diaper but won’t charge to get it to make a better improvement with the looks of the pool. I go to the city pools so much between and cleaner and nicer. Screw that mess!

save yourself the hassle and DO NOT go to this place. Unless you like extremely awful people and love the ghetto.

I used to go here as a kid and the rules are a welcomed improvement. Not sure why people have issue with the rules, only tells me they don’t know how bad it was in the past, babies with diapers in the pool, trash everywhere, I mean as a kid didn’t give a shit but still i can imagine it being much worse then for adults than it is now. They’re pretty simple rules to follow, certainly not the 10 commandments or the Code of Hammurabi, and of course its not a beach.
I think if you want to pay for a pool join a sports club, or buy a pool in your backyard. Seems pretty obvious that «public» implies impartial access by the public. Incurring a fee every time you wanted to enter a public place is ridiculous. Imagine having to pay for the public library or take a jog at the track, let us poorer NYers who are content with the simple rules enjoy an Astoria landmark free from the transplants who want to make Astoria the next premium utopia.

Not a bad pool for a community pool! It’s definitely HUGE and has nice scenery. My son took a swimming class at this pool. The instructors seemed nice and very engaged. Unfortunately, my son had an older instructor who was nice, but not as active and lively as the younger instructors. The lockers rooms are a bit outdated, but, they are clean (I won’t be too picky).
I think they should have a family changing room/​area; here is why. I had to leave my 7 year old outside the locker room alone while I went to the showers to lock our stuff away and take a shower before entering the pool (I understand he is 7 and there are little girls in the locker room changing, but, I wasn’t comfortable leaving him alone). I quickly went inside the locker room and returned to him only to have someone yell at me and tell me I can’t enter the pool area through the main entrance, I should have used the door at the end of the locker roomy right next to the showers. I asked her how was I supposed to use that entrance if my son isn’t allowed to go into the locker room with me!!! She sucked her teeth and said «Okay!!!» and asked one of the guys in the green uniforms to let me through.
After that debacle, We went to the pool and had a decent time. The pool wasn’t too crowded because it was early, just when the pool opened after the swimming classes. After enjoying the pool area, I went back to the locker room and had to leave my son outside, AGAIN. I had no where to change him and he would have needed a little bit of help from me so I had to change my child in the car.
Bottomline, the pool is Ok and wasn’t the worst experience. Yes, the employees who work here are very, very, very serious about the rules! So don’t go there unprepared. TAKE A LOCK!

There’s a lot of disadvantage about this place.
First, the pool, it’s disgusting as hell. Last time I went was 13 years ago, what I saw was dead insects and leafs floating the edges of the pools, random peoples hair and buggers floating in the pool, yuck!!! .I never go back there again. Idk they still do that same nasty routine as usual, but I hope they clean this pool.
Secondly, I’m a type of person who goes to the sauna after going inside of the pool and why there’s no sauna in the restrooms? I’m been to every pools with saunas and why this one don’t?
Thirdly, The restrooms or the locker rooms looks kind of like a concentration camp and the exterior part of building is so industrial. Can it make it more exotic, like a pastel Art Deco building from Miami… Oh I forgot, the Astoria pool building is also Art Deco, unlike the one from Miami. They should renovate the building and paint with orange or green pastel with neon to illuminate at night, and palm trees in the seating area.
Lastly, the food court, I don’t know they sell Pina Colada and Corona, but they should have it.

For a free pool and something that is 5 minutes from my house this is as good as its gonna get. My 4 year old son loves this place and yes there are rules but as long as you bring a lock and an actual bathing suit what is the big deal. Think of the chaos there would be allowing everyone in with their coolers and food and what not, how much of a mess it would be.
I like that they have rules because it keeps the place in check and clean. The free swimming lessons are great for my son and help give him some kind of instructions to encourage him to swim on his own. While the kiddie part could be updated a bit, throw some water shoes or sandals on your kid and you are good. The pool is huge and hence feels cleaner rather than some other public pools. There is plenty of space to spread out and have your own area. Its amenities like this that remind me why its better to be in the city rather than LI or Westchester.

Been going there for yrs never had a problem. Very big and clean. Also a children’s park wit a great city view

This is one giant sized pool! If you are ok with swimming in public pools then this is your perfect setting. Set against the scenic backdrop of Astoria park, this pool has some simple rules to follow (swimming shorts n lock)!

Before coming to the Astoria Park Pool, the last time I went to an NYC pool was 3 years ago when Lasker had to be evacuated due to a used tampon having been mysteriously discharged into the water. «How does that even happen,» one of the workers said to me, shaking her head. I know. Smh too. So I swore off NYC pools and stuck to the beaches… until Astoria’s pulled me back. And I am glad! Clean, not too crowded (at least during the weekdays), two lanes reserved for swimming (don’t expect too much if you’ve ever been an actual competitive swimmer), less rowdy folks, watchful and competent lifeguards, the occasional tourist or visitor, and unbeatable views. Really can’t ask for more! Note: you MUST show a combination padlock and swimwear to the workers at the entrance. If you don’t bring either, you will be directed to purchase them from the kiosk nearby. And the lines are insanely long for the 3 pm shift even during the weekdays, snaking clear around the park on the hottest days.

Pool was pretty dirty. It was crowded with lots of families. Felt like we were in a prison ward being forced to shower when we already did. You cant bring your bags and belongings to the pool.
It is good if you dont really care too much about the cleanliness. Has good lap lanes. Its free.

I drafted a much longer review. But this place deserves as few words as possible. Horrible… dirty…TSA-esque. What kind of pathetic society requires such a rule heavy public pool. Why even bother… embarrassed to live in Queens…

It is a VERY big pool. We didn’t have to wait in the line so it was a big plus. We had the swimming suits on from the car so no issue there of locks and lockers. It’s pretty dingy and dark in the locker/​shower area. The pool itself is clean except my little ones complain of stepping up on something sharp in the water.
Lifeguards were everywhere and very attentive.
There is no family room for a dad to take his two toddler/​little girls to change or bathroom use.
The Canteen in the pool area is pretty cool. People who work there are nice and professional.
I like the convenience of the pool near where I live

This pool is amazing! Yes, A LOT of people try to go here during the summer months, what’s better than having a pool such a short distance away from where you live? And of course, because of that the crowds are RIDICULOUS! I also don’t like the rule of not being able to bring your phone, I feel that it should be a «at your own risk» kinda thing instead of just banning them altogether, I went with my sister and nephew and it would have been nice to be able to get some cute shots of his first time in the pool. However, I started doing the early bird and night owl lap swim that they offer and its INCREDIBLE! it is annoying when there are so many people and if theres one person holding everyone back you kinda have to walk it… but there are times when it seems like I can just swim forever, or as much as my arms and legs will allow me. I have found a new admiration going to the lap swimming, there aren’t any «ghetto kids» as a lot of people complain about and it beats being with hundreds of other people, I get to enjoy the pool right before work to start the day refreshed and at night its the perfect cool down after a long day. They also offer fitness classes, and swimming lessons, which I remember attending when I was a kid! The staff is also pretty nice, just a great public pool to go to!

This is an update to my previous review. I wrote to the NYC Parks Commissioner about adding an express line for the people who come prepared without any bags that need to be checked (aka «people saving the city money»). I was told that an express line wouldn’t be fair to the people who got there first.
You mean the people who bring all their stuff with them like it’s a camping trip which causes the line to be an hour long?
I am doing the city a favor by paying taxes to support this pool and showing up without needing to be checked. I am letting the city keep more of my money by not being a troublemaker at the gate. And this is how I am repaid.

Heres an idea NYC, charge me 5, even 10 dollars.
Then maybe you can chill the fuck out on the extreme rules at this pool.
Maybe then you can hire people who aren’t going to treat you like you are in a prison.
Maybe then you can repave the kiddie pool area instead of it being a rough gravely surface.
Then maybe it wont be yet another bad experience at a public facility in this city.
God damn.

This pool is great! Lots of life guards and kept very very clean. The pool is huge!
I was so excited to see that they have created a dedicated Lap Swim area during the day sessions. This is a great addition that I hope they keep. Making sure there is an area for older adults and kids to swim laps without interruption is very important. This will definitely improve everyone’s health! Also this is a great alternative to the over crowded adult night swim.

I LOVE Astoria park but DETEST Astoria pool (and most public pools period). One thing that’s great is that the pool has to be the biggest pool in NYC. It’s absolutely huge. However, the line to get in to the pool is ridiculous and then you have to deal with all he hood rats, ghetto infidels who constantly try to skip. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of decent people like any other place but the hood rats come out to play when this pool is open. Forget about trying to get a swim in. You’ll constantly bump into nasty, dirty people, step on weird sharp objects. The locker rooms are huge but they need to be upgraded big time.
I would totally avoid this ghetto fest all together. I used to have great memories when I was a kid here but I didn’t know any better. I wanted to take a visit to see if I can have a walk down memory lane but since then, I’ve learned why I avoid public pools. Yeah, Eek! Methinks not.

The bottom line with the pool: you get what you pay for. The pool is really big and clean /​well-​maintained. However, there are so many people that use it that it really ends up not being that great.
I’d say that even though it’s free to register for swimming there, it’s not worth it. I registered for the morning swim sessions that go from 7am-​830am and here’s what I found:
1. The pool is already jammed by 715am. So much so, that on the first day, a bunch of people got there at 830am and had to wait an hour only to not get in at all.
2. Despite that they have lanes for each pace, most lanes have more than 6 people in them. It gets super crowded super fast and it’s tough if you want to take a rest. Note: you’re not allowed to rest on the wall at the end of lane. You kind of have to stand near the corner of the lane, which is really hard when there are already 3 – 4 people there resting.
3. The staff are friendly and doing their best to keep everything orderly, but it’s really hard because there are so many people there.
4. The pool itself was very clean and not too chlorine-​y (although there was chlorine). It’s an outdoor pool so occasionally there’s a twig or whatever, but it was no biggie.
I didn’t have a nightmare experience here like some people claimed. I of course brought a combo lock and showered before I got in the pool so I wasn’t subject to some of the hate from the staff that other people experienced. But, it just wasn’t that great because it was so crowded.

Again, SUPER impressed by the NY Park system. (Lap Swim, Open Swim, Familyish Area)
This pool is HUGE. I looked up the regulation size «Olympic» sized competition pools, and this is over 4 times the size. It isn’t that deep though. I’m guessing the deepest part is about 5 feet. But what an amazing resource for the Astoria/​Queens/​NYC community.
I love the old style of the building. There are big steps to sit or lay out on and plenty of room around the pool to relax. The showers are a little less than maybe not so awesome. The whole locker room feels like a prison inside, so don’t expect much from that. BRING A LOCK.
I also came here for lap swim and it’s such a big pool I didn’t feel that crowded even though there were quite a few people for evening swim. There are actually some fast swimmers that come to this pool, so if you’re worried about getting stuck behind some slow people, don’t. Everyone was pretty courteous about moving out of the way or into slower lanes.
Something strange about this pool… Every time I’ve been I always see guys just stand there in the fast lane ‘waiting’. If you want to show off your body, just stand outside of the pool and get the hell out of the way for people that actually want to swim.

I usually hate being a negative Nancy. Especially about fun things to do in the summer. But YEESH! It felt like I had to jump through less hoops than security at the Airport!
And I only live about 2 blocks away so I didn’t have to trek in from elsewhere.
You MUST have a lock. You can’t keep anything next to you while you’re laying next to the pool. Not a super big deal for me but I can imagine that parents might have a tough time abiding.
Once you get in the locker rooms, they are gigantic, disgusting and you better be comfortable being naked when you change because none of the stalls have doors (thanks for the privacy parks department…).
They then tell you to shower before you go in to the pool area. The pool AREA. I had no plans of going into the water. I was going to read my kindle and relax. Oh wait, but I couldn’t do that because absolutely no electronic devices are allowed in the pool area. It seems like maybe they need to get with the times a little bit more. Almost everything is electronic. Needless to say, I got my stuff and left and didn’t even go into the pool area.
Call me naïve, or a complainer, but it just seems a little ridiculous to have all of these silly rules. It’s great that it’s free and close by (for me) but with facilities that are lacking and a staff that was less than friendly or helpful it doesn’t seem worth it.
Now that I know what I’m in for I might go back again… but most likely not. I think I’ll just go to the beach.