Politics & Government

Aquatic Center Closure Delayed Until 2012

The East Meadow-based county pool was slated to close on July 5 for renovations.

The Nassau County Aquatic Center in East Meadow, which was slated to close on July 5 for renovations, will now remain open throughout 2011, County Executive Edward Mangano announced Thursday.

The closure was initially expected to range from July 5 until  "the first quarter of 2012. Now the closure will be held off until the spring of 2012.

“After listening to our swimmers and high school swimming coaches, and hearing about the impact the closure of the Aquatic Center would have on their activities, I directed the Parks Department to select a time period for renovation that will be less disruptive,” said Mangano. “This is a decision taken only after consulting with our engineers to ensure there are no safety issues involved in delaying the work.”

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The center, which is used for competitive swim meets, high school practices and competitions and casual swimming, has suffered some wear and tear over the 13 years since its construction for the Goodwill Games in 1998.

The county has stated that some of the original work on the facility was “substandard,” specifically the HVAC system, and they are going to be “pursuing litigation against some of the contractors and the state to recover costs related to the original work.” New York State supervised the initial construction of the aquatic center in the late 90's.

Find out what's happening in East Meadowwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The estimated $25 million in repairs to the facility will focus on installing a new HVAC system inside the pool area, upgrading the pool’s filters, removing and replacing the roof on the building and updating the pool’s lighting, according to county officials.

When the Aquatic Center is closed for renovation, the county will open two heated pools at Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn-North Hills and Cantiague Park in Hicksville.


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