Upscale Swim School For Tots Heading To UES, As Lifeguard Shortage Cuts Youth Swim Programs At City Pools
A branch of the popular kid’s swim school opening on E. 80th St. is now booking lessons, and hopes to be open by the end of the year. Our Town spoke to Val Paese and Debbie Newell-Antler–the president and regional manager of the Goldfish franchise for the borough, respectively–who say that the new location will take some pressure off the surging demand in Manhattan for safe swim lessons. Asphalt Green, another UES staple, is also attempting to make lessons available for clamoring parents.
| 08 Aug 2023 | 12:04
The Goldfish Swim School, a franchise that provides “shiver-free” swim lessons to kids from 4 months of age to 12 years old, will be opening a new facility on E. 80th St. A lifeguard shortage persisting in NYC has caused most city pools to cancel their youth swim programs this year. (
)
A lifeguard shortage continues to persist at public pools and ocean beaches, as New York City parents are scrambling to find facilities to teach kids safe swimming skills at a young age. However, another pool will be entering the market and opening its doors to stressed families: the Goldfish Swim School, which will be opening a branch on E. 80th St. in the UES. Pre-registration is already online, and is functioning on a first-come first-served priority basis. Goldfish Swim School teaches kids ranging from 4 months of age to 12 years old.
Debbie Newell, the regional manager for the Goldfish Swim franchise, said than an astounding 2,500 families had already reached out for a spot. Our Town was not able to verify this, but it would be an eminently plausible claim. “We already have a lot of families that have paid in advance, because they want to know that their child or their children have the exact spot that they’re looking for,” she added.
“We are a true swim academy, fully dedicated to kids. We don’t share space with a health-club or, you know, other members...we do it the right way. 90 degrees pool temperature, 92 degrees when you step out of it. Shiver free,” Val Paese, the president of the Goldfish franchise that will come to Manhattan, told Our Town.
Newell wants to make sure that kids will be equipped with the necessary skills to deal with something such as accidentally falling into a family pool. Echoing Paese’s advertising of Goldfish’s “shiver-free” characteristics, she proclaimed that the school is “a tropical environment. Kids love it. We celebrate everything. It’s a very happy place to be.”
As far as further outreach goes for getting the word out about the new UES facility, Paese and Newell both brought up “water safety presentations” at local schools. Construction on the pool should be done by September. It will be the fourth school Goldfish has opened in 2023.
Other options are available if parents look for them, including swim lessons at Asphalt Green. “We’re doing what we can to meet that demand,” says Karen Bosari, the marketing director for the E. 90th St. organization. She noted that they’re looking for new instructors and even expanding on-site programming, even as she claims that “we’re doing ok” in terms of lifeguard staffing.