Everybody Into Weehawken Pool (Including Hoboken Residents) For Memorial Day Weekend

HOBOKEN, NJ — The new Weehawken pool complex opened in time for Memorial Day weekend last year, but it took officials until August 2022 to allow outside residents into the state-funded complex. However, on the eve of Memorial Day weekend 2023, word came throughout the land (from Township Manager Gio Ahmad): The pool will be open for the coming weekend, and all New Jersey residents are allowed in.

[Update: See a followup story on season pass rates for 2023 here.]

New Hours For 2023

Weehawken's sprawling complex is supposed to be open to other towns, because the pool was partly built with state Green Acres funding.

On the eve of Memorial Day weekend, Weehawken had altered its website to add a page for 2023 — but hadn't added any new information as of 8 p.m. Thursday, May 25. Then, just around 9 p.m., Ahmad directed Patch to a new announcement:

Weehawken Pool Complex Opening Announcement

We are pleased to announce that the Weehawken Township pool complex will open this Memorial Day Weekend. Please note that the pool will be open to New Jersey residents only. For the safety of all visitors, anyone 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult who is an immediate family member or resides in the same household.

Operating hours for the pool complex are as follows:

Saturday and Sunday:

• 8 am to 10 am: Lap pool only
• 10 am to 6 pm: General swim

* Monday, May 29, 2023, Memorial Day: 12 pm to 6 pm: General swim (no lap pool hours)*

These hours will be applicable for all weekends (Saturdays & Sundays) until and including June 18, 2023.

The full pool season schedule will begin on Friday, June 23. Starting June 1, 2023, you can sign up for the seasonal pass. Currently, pre-registration is not required, and there are no set limited hours of use. However, please note that hours of operation and schedules are subject to change. The township can modify these hours based on pool demand, usage, and conditions. Furthermore, the township may alter the regulations mentioned above due to weather conditions and capacity.

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The full announcement is here.

Wait, There's More...

When asked if the pool will definitely be open to all New Jersey residents, Ahmad said, "All NJ residents for the weekend season any time and no charge. When the season pass begins I believe the same should apply or some minor modifications." (So, some details are being finalized about summer. Stay tuned.)

(Also, at the town's May 10 Township Council meeting, they were scheduled to vote on a contract with the Weehawken Swim Association to offer low-cost lessons to residents, as they did last year.)

What About Other Pools For Hoboken?

Meanwhile, Hoboken residents have wondered when their city will make good on a decades-old promise to build a pool.

The city has announced that a pool could be part of development proposals in 2020 and in 2022, and then again just last month.

Fresh Ideas

Hoboken council candidate Ian Rintel, who runs Play Hoboken in town, has floated an idea that may help families while they wait for a development complex.

"I'd like to see Hoboken coordinate with both Weehawken and Union City to run 'The Hop' as a shuttle for Hoboken residents to make use of the new Weehawken pool and Firefighter Memorial Park throughout the summer," Rintel said. The Firefighter complex, near the top of the 14th Street Viaduct, has both an Olympic-size pool and a splash area for kids, but isn't a quick walk.

"The shuttle can carry Union City and Weehawken residents back to Hoboken to take advantage of our restaurants, shops, park and waterfront," Rintel added. "I'm not sure if the shuttle should be a few dollars per rider or free, I'd leave it for others to decide."

A Hoboken mom started a petition months ago, which has garnered more than 450 signatures, asking the city to move forward with a pool project now, rather than waiting for a development complex.

She also noted, "As two educators from NJ noted in a NJ.com op-ed recently, urban areas need their own community pools and low-cost swimming lessons to save lives. Weehawken now has a fantastic pool complex and offers low-cost lessons."

She said, "The pool is an option in every land proposal, which is great, but also could result in always thinking another location will be better and it not coming to pass."

Last year, Mayor Bhalla noted that Hoboken residents can register to use the Stevens Institute of Technology pool in summer, for a fee.

Bhalla acknowledged the need for a pool six years ago in his recreation plan when he ran for mayor.

"Advocacy for Hobokenites to gain access to Weehawken's facility, while much appreciated, pulls focus from addressing our core need for a pool," Samantha said in the petition.

"Efforts to facilitate the use of our local university and public high school pools are helpful, but they can't compare with a free, outdoor, low-cost option for use by all residents — one that would also allow for low-cost/free Recreation Department lessons to teach crucial water safety. Further, the school district has many other pressing priorities."

Have pool thoughts? Comment below or here.

See prior reporting, including more about other pools open to Hudson County residents, here.