John S. DaVanzo Community Pool opens for season
Summer in Mineola has officially kicked off with the opening of the John S. DaVanzo Community Pool, this past weekend. The pool, which is open exclusively to Mineola residents through Sept. 5, is a community jewel, said Mayor Scott Strauss.
“Most of us who go there know each other,” Strauss said. “It’s a great place to go for a swim, cool off on a hot day, swim some laps for exercise or just enjoy breeze and socialize.”
Strauss noted that growing up, he, along with his siblings and friends, would spend almost every day at the pool. That was also the case for resident Donna Camaione, who was enjoying opening day poolside with a magazine.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. [And now] I come here every day I have off and at night when I get off,” Camaione said. “We have all these lovely lounges. And even when the kids are here it’s peaceful. It’s beautiful here, I love everything about it.”
The pool has been a part of the Mineola community since June 1961 and since then, has seen several upgrades and changes, most notably a name change from the Mineola Community Pool to the John S. DaVanzo Community Pool in 2007, named after the former deputy mayor and trustee who spearheaded efforts to install the pool.
Friends Melissa and Megan Connolly and Julia Valente were the first ones in the pool, and said they were excited to spend time at the community mainstay during the summer recreation program.
“It’s fun to jump in the pool,” Valente said. “I like this pool because it has a really long slide and a diving board.”
“I like how the lifeguards have fun with you and they let you go down the slide and on the diving board as many times as you want,” Megan Connolly said.
Local resident Ines Zencic said she loved coming to the pool with her daughter because of its location and cleanliness.
“It’s very close for us, we don’t have to drive so that’s good,” said Zencic. “I like that the kiddie pool is giant. It’s very clean and the people are friendly.”
The pool’s hours are through June 24: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; June 25-Aug. 19: Mondays, 2 to 9 p.m., and Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Aug. 20-Sept. 5, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information visit www.mineola-ny.gov.
