Dear Editor:
You could lose weight in a hurry by chopping off your feet, but it wouldn’t improve your health. Jersey City needs to balance its budget, and there’s plenty of dead weight, but that’s not what they’re going after.
I swim at Pershing field pool. A couple of weeks ago there was a notice that the hours were being cut back from 7:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. on weekdays to 9:00 a.m. – 6 p.m. This meant that they would lose anyone who had a day job – most of their paying customers. So they would have lost income. There was uproar and the hours were restored.
Now the city is laying off most of the people who actually run the place. Most of these people are paid minimum wage with no benefits. Many of them double a front desk, janitor, secretary and lifeguard. Others teach popular classes for children and senior citizens. The facility brings in money which goes into the city’s general funds. And these people spend their money on local stores. The ongoing fixed costs of the pool – heating, maintenance and so remain the same. Unless the city is planning on totally shuttering the pool this is a counterproductive measure.
Pershing Field pool adds value to the neighborhood. Downtown has the river, restaurants, PATH trains and ferries. Journal Square is a central transportation and commercial hub. You wouldn’t save money by eliminating the trains at rush hour. Not only would you lose direct income, but real estate values would decline.
At $75 for a 6 month membership Pershing Field is the best deal in town. I’ve talked to a number of other swimmers, and even though nobody likes a price increase, most would be willing to pay more to keep the facility running properly. There are other things the city could do to add income from the pool.
Maybe consulting with the people who are running and using the facility would result in cost saving or revenue enhancing ideas. Tow down decisions by people with no on the ground experience only destroys value and losses money.
Sincerely,
Greg Ribot