NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Westchester residents have a couple of more options for cooling off on a hot summer day as two county pools reopen Friday.
Saxon Woods in White Plains and the Sprain Ridge Complex in Yonkers are open at 50% capacity.
Even at half capacity, Saxon Woods can accommodate 1,400 people. Masks must be worn while walking the pool deck and entering restrooms.
Tickets will be sold for two sessions: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
"You can buy a wristband and you can leave, but when you come back and we open at 11 we will have what we call an easy pass route so that you are not waiting on yet another long line," Parks Commissioner Kathleen O'Connor said.
Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. the facilities will undergo intense cleaning and sanitizing.
"Any surface, any handrail, anything that can be touched by a human hand will be cleaned," O'Connor said.
The county has hired additional staff to enforce social distancing at pools.
"There will be staff that strictly stay on the boardwalk or on the deck keeping families separated," O'Connor said.
First in line Friday for Saxon Woods was Nick Vino.
"There's nothing like jumping into a nice cold pool on a hot summer day," he said.
On July 3, two more Westchester County pools will reopen: Willson’s Woods in Mount Vernon and Tibbetts Brook in Yonkers.