Syracuse’s mayor asked for help to open 2 city pools. In two days, 154 donors step up - syracuse.com

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Syracuse, N.Y. -- At least 150 people have donated more than $12,000 in an effort to open two Syracuse city swimming pools this summer.

Mayor Ben Walsh announced the campaign on Friday, another result of the stark financial crisis amid the coronavirus.

About 48 hours later, 154 donors have given $12,480, as of 1 p.m. today. (By 1:20 p.m., another two donors added $600 more to the effort.) The Syracuse Parks Conservancy is raising the money through a GoFundMe campaign.

The city has enough money to open two of its eight outdoor public pools this summer, Walsh has said.

But to open two more, he turned to the public for help in raising another $100,000 so that Syracuse kids and families can swim.

Most of the donations so far range from $50 to $100. At least two donors have given $1,000 each.

The city pools at Kirk Park and Schiller Park will open July 16, with open swimming permitted seven days a week from noon to 6 p.m. The pools also will offer lap swimming from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. The city will charge $3 per visit for lap swimming.

If the campaign is successful, the city could afford to open pools at Thornden Park and Onondaga Park, according to Walsh.

In Syracuse, the public pools are more than recreation. For some, it’s the only way to cool down in the summer. Last week, the city reopened some splash pads and water features in playgrounds as temperatures reached the 90s.

Syracuse isn’t the only city turning to donors to provide municipal services. In Ithaca, Purity Ice Cream donated $80,000 toward opening a city pool, Mayor Svante Myrick announced last week. Later in the week, an anonymous donor gave $25,000 to support Ithaca’s playgrounds, the Ithaca Times reported.

Syracuse expects it will lose about $45 million in revenue between March and the end of June 2021, Walsh has said, mostly from a decline in sales tax collections from shuttered stores and restaurants. Already the city has furloughed 104 people.

Congress has yet to help cities such as Syracuse deal with the financial fallout. In May, the House of Representatives passed a relief bill that included $363 million for Syracuse. The Senate has yet to vote on the $3 billion act, which would also include another round of stimulus checks.

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Syracuse’s mayor asked for help to open 2 city pools. In two days, 154 donors step up - syracuse.com
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