ASTORIA — A Queens lawmaker is hoping to bring Brooklyn cool to Astoria Park Pool.
City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. is pitching a plan to convert a spray shower area into an ice rink during the winter — taking a cue from McCarren Park Pool, which opened for skating earlier this month.
"If they can do it at McCarren Park, I think we should replicate that in Astoria," he said. "There are no outdoor skating rinks anywhere in Queens."
Vallone sent a letter to the Department of Parks and Recreation last week proposing the idea, saying Astoria Pool could strike a similar deal as the McCarren Park rink, which is being operated by Open Space Alliance of North Brooklyn through a concession agreement with the Parks Department.
"We have a location on the north side of the pool, which is a sprinkler pool, which would be perfect for it," Vallone said.
The Parks Department confirmed that it received the councilman's letter and is currently reviewing it, a spokesman said.
Officials are already planning big changes for Astoria's Olympic-sized pool. An unused diving area on the south end of the facility is going to be turned into an amphitheater-style performance space, a project Vallone had been pushing for the last few years.
An ice skating rink would make the pool a destination even after the weather turns cold, he said.
"Then it will be an all year-round location," he said.
