If we weren’t going swimming in the deep, crystalline waters of Lake Winnipesaukee this weekend (wooooo-hooooo!) we would definitely be dipping in the NYC dumpster pools set up near Grand Central Terminal this Saturday. That’s right: last summer’s exclusive, hipster, wet-n-wild action is this summer’s populist, family fun! Of course, these dumpster pools were never actually used for trash, and are super-deluxe models (the pool pics here are from Katie Sokoler, and Gothamist, who got a sneak preview, and shared), but still, how cool will it be to take a quick dip, out on the summer streets, in Midtown? So cool. 

 

 

In addition to the obvious pleasures of walking the city in the middle of the street with hundreds of your fellow city-dwellers, Summer Streets NYC also includes an organized Joy Ride, described as a “group bike ride set to music” plus picnic, which sounds like fun to us (reserve your spot here); and all sorts of theatrical entertainment, FringeNYC-style, at the Soho rest stop.  Plus: dumpster pools!!

 

The Summer Streets–Lafayette Street to Fourth Avenue to Park Avenue–will be cleared of traffic from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on three consecutive Saturdays: August 7, 14, and 21. The dumpster pools will also be open from 7:00 until 1:00, with entry bracelets handed out on a first-come, first served basis. For lots more information, maps, and a complete schedule of all the events at each of the four rest stops along the route, please see the Summer Streets NYC website.