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For several decades, I was a vocal advocate for preserving the Lincoln Park Pool in its original form. As a unique urban swimming pond, it was quite remarkable worldwide, and I felt sad when the design for the new pool was announced.

Visiting the pool for the first time, however, all I could do was smile because I was among hundreds of fellow Albanians of every size, shape, and color who were having the time of their lives. There was something for everyone, and you could even walk directly into one of the pools just like before. After the rest of the construction and landscaping are complete, it may turn out to be as beautiful as the old pool.

So, hats off to Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan for raising the necessary funds for such an ambitious project and keeping it on schedule. Thanks, too, to everyone who had a hand in getting the pool off to such a successful start. Well done, everyone.

The writer is a founding member of the Lincoln Park Alliance.

Published Aug. 11, 2025

Every few weeks, Columnist Chris Churchill and Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan are able to put aside their differences and blame all of Albany’s housing issues on the Common Council. A recent Churchill column ("A tale of two apartment markets," July 20) lauds much construction in the city center of Troy, while suggesting that the lack of market-rate development in Albany is due to the inclusionary housing ordinance passed in 2023.

Troy is not just an easy place for developers to get their projects greenlit; it is also a place where working people can explore dynamic cultural amenities late into the night without ever getting into a car. Why would developers believe that Albany is the right place to bring new, dense, urban development if everything the mayor does suggests the contrary?

Just look at the investments into the Warehouse District, now a........

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