Latest news with #KennyPerez
New York Post
08-07-2025
- New York Post
Bizarre swimming pool on NYC street dismantled leaving local hearts drained
The pool party's over. A rogue streetside swimming pool in the Bronx was apparently dismantled by its makers Monday after drawing attention from the NYPD, angry neighbors said. A TikTok video shows a group of men dismantling the makeshift pool outside a Mount Hope Place building. Advertisement 'I don't know why they took it down, but I think it was the cops who told them,' a puzzled woman who lives in the building said Tuesday. 'I mean it was fun for the kids.' Advertisement 4 Locals dismantled the pool Monday. @josh_glo0/TikTok The massive street pool was erected by longtime block resident Kenny Perez, an ex-city lifeguard, for his son's birthday, The Post first reported Monday. His creation — which he made from $2,000 worth of materials scrounged from Facebook Marketplace — was an instant hit in the summer heat. Videos showing the surreal sight of a giant swimming pool just off a New York City street — with smiling children frolicking and daredevils plunging into it from a building's scaffolding — drew millions of views online. Advertisement 4 The pool drew happy kids and millions of online video hits during its short life. Tomas E. Gaston 4 NYPD cops received numerous complaints about the pool since July 4, officials said. Tomas E. Gaston 4 Little remained of the pool Tuesday after locals took it down. Matthew McDermott But the NYPD fielded numerous complaints since July 4, police said. Advertisement Cops asked residents to drain the 'illegal swimming pool' during the holiday, but it was quickly refilled, NYPD officials said. After repeated warnings, NYPD officials requested Monday that the city's sanitation workers remove the pool once and for all. Locals, however, seem to have beaten the city to the punch — and some blamed The Post's exclusive report on the pool for its demise, despite the days of complaints to the NYPD. 'The f—king New York Post got it shut down,' one irate man ranted. Additional reporting by Nicole Rosenthal
New York Post
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Bizarre NYC swimming pool left operating in the street for days goes viral
This Big Apple block is making a splash — for now. A massive streetside swimming pool set up in the Bronx is heating up on social media, just as daredevils began testing the patience of the NYPD by dangerously plunging into the water off nearby building scaffolding Monday, shocking video shows. Advertisement 5 Washington Heights resident Alejandro Rolon and his twin boys at the Mount Hope Place streetside swimming pool. Tomas The bizarre makeshift oasis in the middle of Mount Hope Place Friday, in the eponymous neighborhood, was erected by longtime block resident Kenny Perez — an ex-city lifeguard and swim instructor — for his son's birthday, Perez told The Post. 'That's why I did the pool, so he can hang out with all of his friends,' said Perez, 32, who reportedly shelled out $2,000 for the Facebook Marketplace pool set purchase, plus plywood, floaties and more. Advertisement A video of the obscure giant-sized pool jutting off the sidewalk beneath a building under construction as passersby stare in sheer disbelief has amassed nearly five million views on TikTok, and subsequent clips — including video of the cops swooping in on the operation on July 4 — have received tens of thousands more. The NYPD has yet to shutter the summer setup. A request for comment from the NYPD was not immediately returned. But TikTok videos surfaced Monday of neighborhood desperados upping the ante by jumping off nearby apartment building scaffolding — plunging feet first into the above-ground pool. Advertisement 'You really can't keep it open [for long], it was a July 4th thing,' Perez said, adding the cops reportedly showed up Friday evening with a tow truck 'and asked us to take it down.' 'But then they said 'we'll give you guys another two hours.' 5 Bronx resident Kenny Perez, 32, built the bizarre swimming pool using plywood and unopened pool materials from Facebook Marketplace. Tomas E. Gaston Days later, locals said police still stop by at night to send everyone home – but the pop-up swiftly reopens in the morning, with hours unofficially 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Advertisement Perez said the pool will officially close once the police shut it down for good — which could be at any moment. Blocking vehicular traffic and opening a fire hydrant without a permit are both violations, according to the city's 311 website — but Perez said he hasn't seen a single ticket. And residents admitted a 311 call could tear it down at any time, but even a pair of water conservation complaints — one of which has been 'in progress' since Friday — has yet to drown out the fun. 5 Mount Hope Place youngsters play in the above-ground swimming pool on Sunday afternoon. Tomas E. Gaston 'This is a tight-knit community, we wanted all the kids to stay together [and] have a good time,' Perez said. 'So we figured, why not put a pool here?' Neighbor Jovany Olivo, 37, who was watching his 4-year-old son Jio splashing around on Sunday afternoon, said the 'private' pool tops the city-owned Claremont Pool, which is just 10 minutes away, due to the excessive lines to get in – where some kids have even fainted while waiting on extremely hot days. 'They're having fun,' Olivo said in defense of the original setup. 'They don't get hurt, they're not doing nothing bad. That line alone [for the public pool], by the time they get in, they get a heat stroke.' 5 Jovany Olivo, 37, and his 4-year-old son Jio (middle) at the Bronx pool. Tomas E. Gaston Advertisement 'Everyone here is family,' added Bronx resident Josiah, 10, with a smile as he treaded water with several young cousins and neighbors. 5 The quirky pool is refilled using a plywood contraption to launch water from an open fire hydrant. Tomas E. Gaston The youngster said he plays in the pool 'all day' in the sweltering heat, and will often play 'WWE' with other boys while the girls play tag. The towering pool is treated with chlorine and other chemicals purchased by the former lifeguard, and filled with water from a nearby fire hydrant using a plywood contraption – with refills doubling as a 'waterfall' spectacle for youngsters. Advertisement 'I see this on social media: it's going crazy, everybody's talking about this pool, so I had to go see for myself,' said Alejandro Rolon, who brought his twin boys – as well as inflatables, water guns and even a dead horseshoe crab. 'It's super hot,' he added. 'The kids are having the time of their lives.'
