Agora, Take II in the McCarren Pool

Noemie Lafrance brings Agora II back to McCarren Pool this month. If you went last year and wished that you could have gotten in there and run around with the dancers, this year you can, and this is the last weekend to do so.

The brief:

Inspired by the "agora," the center of town or marketplace in ancient Greece, AGORA II investigates the role of public space in contemporary urban life. Performed beyond the theater walls, this work challenges the interactionss between public space, performance and audience.

Where: McCarren Park Pool, Greenpoint/Williamsburg
Main Arch (Lorimer St. between Driggs & Bayard Ave.)
When: September 13 - 30 2006, Wednesday - http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifSaturday, 8:00 PM
$20

Of course, Agora II, this summer's McCarren Pool festivities - from the Sunday Pool party to the expensive Clear Channel Communications concerts, beg the larger question about the future of the pool.

For public space advocates who oppose most of Robert Moses's decisions, Moses himself was an advocate of large-scale neighborhood swimming pools to provide healthy recreation for the working class in New York. McCarren Pool was a product of the Works Progress Administration (more on the history of WPA-era swimming pools here.) and sadly, is the only one of 11 pools opened under the WPA that is not open. It was closed in 1984 for reasons unknown though much speculated.

When I worked in affordable housing in Williamsburg, there was a community rumor that there was an opportunity to rehabilitate the pool structure in 2000-2001, but the funding was lost because no overarching plan could be agreed upon. But a less dramatic reality might be that funding was lost due to post-9/11 consequences.

It seems that the Pool has another chance at a second life. Sens production (Noemie Lafrance's dance company) is quite active in securing that life. So is Clear Channel, I would guess. Unfortunately, the mega-media corporation's participation is obscuring the many other community groups like Pool Aid, that have had a hand in keeping the community vision for the pool alive, even overshadowing Sens productions.

As I looked around the pool on a sunny afternoon this past summer, the potential for an amazing, vibrant readaptation of the pool is startling clear. Within the open structure, and even without water, there were plenty of different places to hang out and relax around and in the pool. People were lounging, sitting, standing, watching, playing games, dancing and sleeping. Some families had brought their young children for a day in the sun, complete with wading in kiddie pools.

However, families were scarce compared to the hundreds of hipsters milling around. I'd like to see some plans that showed how this piece of history could accommodate performances, screenings - along with something for the kids and seniors. Given the numerous luxury condos going up in the neighborhood, especially around McCarren Park, it seems that any effort in the direction of anchoring the existing diverse community, instead of tilting it in favor of a higher per capita income level, would help stabilize the neighborhood. It isn't outrageous to pay to see a concert - but it is if the public space has only paid events to offer at the moment.

At this point in the (in)decision process, I think anyone can put on an event in McCarren Pool. And did I hear that a temporary ice rink will be put in this winter?

I've been jumping on the news bandwagon late this entire summer - this and more have been covered already:

Queens Ledger/Greenpoint Star
Brooklyn Rail
NY Times