“This is our little resort,” said Margaret Burt, looking very relaxed in a lounge chair.
“We pretend like we’re on vacation,” added Tina Hernandez.
The two friends and their kids were enjoying opening day at the North Bergen pool on Friday, June 26. The pool had been open for weekends beginning May 23; now it was officially open every day for the summer.
“I’m going to be at this pool every week,” said Samantha Morales, 8, a bright and precocious spitfire of energy. “We all go as a group. We like to call it ‘the crew’ or ‘the gang.’”
The crew was lazing under a shade structure near the entrance to the pool complex. “This is my clique,” said Aaron Fenzi, attending with his 6-week-old son Jake Elwood and 16-year-old daughter Adrian, named after the movies “The Blues Brothers” and “Rocky” respectively. “We always congregate over here, every day.”
Samantha’s classmate Esmerelda Restrepo came to the pool with her grandma, Alexis Astudillo. “There’s going to be a luau here,” said Esmerelda about the season-ending event held each year at the pool. “I won the dance contest last year. I danced the whole entire night until my feet were swollen and numb but I didn’t get any prize.”
So how did she know she won, asked Samantha.
“My family says so,” answered Esmerelda.
‘We were amazed’
“I’ve been waiting for this,” said Astudillo about the opening day. “I needed it. Actually I read about it in the North Bergen Reporter.” Staked out at her favorite spot in the shade of the slide, where she could watch her granddaughter play in the pool, she said, “It’s nice, it’s clean, they have fun. I love it. It’s not expensive, it’s nearby, it has a decent atmosphere, especially for her. We come here on a regular basis.”
Harold and Maria Espin were newcomers to the pool, attending with their three daughters. “We’ve been going to the beach but it’s too far and we got a flyer for the pool and we said, ‘It’s right here, why don’t we try it.’ And we came in here and we were amazed. So nice for the kids. It’s better than driving an hour to the beach and they cannot swim. Over here they can be in the water all day if they want to.”
“You can swim, you can stay for a movie, you can stay for a live band or a DJ.” –Brian Bonacci
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Her friend Burt lives in Jersey City and joined the pool as a nonresident, paying slightly higher fees. They prefer to come on weekdays, when the pool is less crowded. “During the week there’s hardly anybody here,” she said. “Everything’s clean. When you walk into that bathroom everything is sparkling clean. They do a great job.”
Burt actually has a history with the location. “Many years ago I used to work on this property,” she said. “This was A-P-A Transport many, many years ago. It was a trucking company and they were here for like 50 years. That was my first job out of college. I’m still in touch with some of those people and I’ll text them pictures: ‘This is where the truck yard used to be.’”
Keeping it safe
“The old pool was built in a contaminated area,” said Ted Kiczek of the previous North Bergen pool, long since shut down. “They never knew it. They dumped a lot of stuff over there but nobody knew about it. And then when they found out they closed it. We didn’t have a pool for a few years.”
“We used to be members of the old one,” said his wife, Gert. “Our kids grew up in that pool.”
Nowadays the Kiczeks come to the pool regularly just to relax. Their chosen spot is by a huge shade structure that was erected at no cost to the town and serves as a solar panel, with the town selling the power back to the grid. The structure is adjacent to the “adult” pool, where younger swimmers aren’t allowed.
The area is particularly appealing to the senior crowd, said the Kiczeks, especially during the week when it’s less crowded and parking is easier.
In addition to the adult pool and the all-ages one, the complex features an area for toddlers and a spray park.
“We have family bathrooms and we have regular bathrooms with showers,” said Assistant Pool Manager Frank Piazza. “And lockers if they need to lock up anything.” As for the staff, “We try to keep the same lifeguards. They start as juniors in high school and some graduate college and they’re still here. They come back for the summers.”
Lifeguard Nick Valencia graduated from North Bergen High School just two days before the pool opened for the season. “This is my fourth year,” he said of the job. “It’s a great vibe. Everyone pitches in. We’re all good friends. No drama. A very nice summer job.”
Lifeguards have to pass a class and become certified, then work in shifts of 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off.
Co-manager Brian Bonacci teaches two lifeguard training classes a year. A lifeguard himself for 23 years, he has managed the North Bergen pool since it opened in 2007, after managing the pool in Ridgefield. During the school year, he is the band director at the high school.
“We have two certified EMTs on staff. They’re on alternating shifts so at all times we have an EMT,” he said.
“A big part of this job is being proactive,” he continued. “Controlling things like what comes into the facility. Not allowing alcohol. Not allowing any glass containers, to prevent any broken glass from the area. Creating rules that create a safe environment. Stopping people from doing dangerous behaviors that could lead to a serious injury.”
Food, movies, music, more
Robert Goetz owns the food concession stand at the pool. This is his first year at the location, after 25 years in the business. “We had Frank’s Papaya on Bergenline,” he said of his Union City location, which closed when the economy dipped. “They liked our hot dogs so they brought us over here. It’s a natural casing dog so when you bite it, it you get a little crunch.”
In addition to the staples of dogs, burgers, pizza, and fries, he’ll be offering healthy options. “We’re going to have wraps, salads, fruit salads,” he said. Their mango-banana smoothie is truly spectacular, a perfect refresher on a hot afternoon.
“I’ll tell you the truth, I worked in restaurants with smaller kitchens,” he said of the stand. “We have a pizza oven, we have a regular oven, we have a charcoal grill, and two fryolators. We don’t play around.”
“Last year we had about 2,100 individual memberships” at the pool, said Joanne Sogluizzo, the other manager. “This year we’ve got about 1,800 so far.” She expects that number to soar after July 4.
In addition to swimming and the luau, the pool offers up other activities throughout the season.
“We have special events so it becomes more than just a pool,” said Bonacci. “You pay your fee and you basically come here every day. You can swim, you can stay for a movie, you can stay for a live band or a DJ.”
Swimming lessons are also available for all ages. For information on pool hours and registration visit the town website at northbergen.org.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.