Calling All East River Swimming Pool Enthusiasts!

It's all happening! Maybe, one day — well, at least it could happen, if you'll help. The NYC Economic Development Corporation announced Wednesday that it would (very much) like to hear your ideas for an "East River Swim Facility," which is administrative speak for FLOATING EAST RIVER POOL HELL YES.

The EDC is specifically seeking Expressions of Interest from parties with viable thoughts on "developing, installing, and operating a self‐filtering swim facility to be located in the East River off lower Manhattan." Proposed designs, and this is crucial, must "provide the public with a swim facility which is capable of filtering the waters of the East River," so that you (yes, you!) can swim in said waters without all the microbes and oil slicks getting in your way. Applicants must be ready and willing to "enter into a lease, license, or other agreement with the City for the lands under water to place the proposed swim facility," and must be financially solvent enough to build and operate the pool — a fair amount of responsibility, sure, but then the rest of us are placing at least some of our municipal swimming freedoms in your hands.

Actually, it seems most reasonable to expect we're placing our hopes and dreams in a local nonprofit called +POOL, which has for years been trying to bring a big floating pool to the East River, the Hudson being too shallow in many spots. But not just any pool; a pool that will clean the surrounding waters. "Like a giant strainer dropped in the river," +POOL's design would float in the river like a big X and filter "water within its walls, removing bacteria, contaminants and odors, leaving only safe, swimmable water that meets local and state standards."

Having pioneered this river pool idea in 2010, +POOL has launched multiple Kickstarter campaigns to fund its research and development. In 2014, they announced that their tri-filtration process works, and Kanye West even showed up in support, but that didn't solve the problem of where to put the dang thing. The group is currently conducting tests for a public art installation: A giant plus sign made of glowing lights, moored off the Seaport District, in one of the previously proposed locations for the pool itself. According to local news outlet The City, the EDC plans to station any pool it awards a green light in the waters off of Two Bridges.

At this preliminary juncture, it would be reasonable to have questions and concerns, such as: What happens if (when??) the pool becomes unmoored? How worried should I be about backsplash from the river itself, will the toxic slime water kill me, or make me grow a third ear, or have the oysters got that all under control? Will it slowly deflate over time, like every other blow-up pool toy I've known in my life?

The answers to those questions are, respectively: As +POOL's brains previously told Gothamist, the pool will probably anchor in one place, with the ability to scoot around all barge-like as needed; probably not very worried, as people already swim in the East River, which isn't as dirty as you think, and which probably won't kill you with its trash floes alone (but still, don't eat the fish); as noted, we're dealing with a large platform-type structure here, not a big kiddie pool, so no!

+POOL had not returned Gothamist's request for comment at time of publication, but if you think you have a better design idea, the please see the submission guidelines. [h/t The City]