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McCarren Park Pool Ice Rink Looking to Open by the Fall

By Meredith Hoffman | February 2, 2012 10:01pm
The rink is projected to open by October 2012.
The rink is projected to open by October 2012.
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Parks Department

WILLIAMSBURG — Locals have been waiting to don their swimsuits and dip into McCarren Park's newly built $50 million pool when it opens this summer — but when the temperatures drop, they'll be able lace up their skates and glide across an ice rink installed there a few months later.

The city recently began accepting proposals for an ice rink to open from Oct. 15, 2012, to March 30, 2013, on the McCarren Park Pool's deck.

The city wants the rink to be as large as possible — up to 80-by-125 feet — a Parks Department spokeswoman said.

The rink's operator, which is being sought for a 12-year contract, must provide all the necessary equipment to maintain the ice, including lighting, benches, ice-making equipment, a refrigeration system and a Zamboni, the spokeswoman said.

The rink's operating hours have not yet been determined.

For resident Nadine Rubin Nathan, the rink will give her one more excuse to stay in the neighborhood rather than crossing the river to Manhattan.

"It'll be great for Williamsburg," she said, as she strolled with her baby daughter past the park recently. "Daily you hear about things opening up — the more there is in Williamsburg, the harder it is to leave."

Another local resident, Tim Adams, 29, said he'd enjoy the "wholesome" activity of ice skating, and noted that there were no other rinks nearby.

Stuyvesant Town resident Aimee Murawski said the new rink at her complex has been a great success — despite some concerned residents — adding she could imagine the Brooklyn skating spot taking off.

"It's trendy now," she said about ice skating, "but if the rink stays, it'll become a mainstay, a fixture."