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It’s Thursday.

Weather: Sunny, with a high near 90. Nothing but blue skies, largely.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until July 4.

Hot town! Summer in the city has arrived, and right on schedule. New York City’s 53 outdoor public pools open today and remain open daily through Sept. 8.

Before diving in to the details, here are some numbers:

53: The number of city pools

900: The number of pool lifeguards

1.7 million: The number of users last summer

16 million: The total number of gallons in all the pools

$0: The entry fee

Yes, these urban oases are free, but before you plunge into that cool, chlorinated bliss, you must show an attendant at the entrance that you have a conventional bathing suit — shorts must have a lining — and a sturdy padlock to secure your belongings in a locker.

Pool hours are generally from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with an hour break at 3 p.m. for cleaning, and lunch time for lifeguards and other staff members.

The pools range in size from the 40-by-20-foot pool in Manhattan’s Tompkins Square Park to the mammoth Astoria Pool in Queens overlooking the East River. That pool is 330 feet by 165 feet and was designed to accommodate 3,000 swimmers. It was one of 11 Olympic-size pools the city opened in 1936, all under Robert Moses, the city’s original parks commissioner, with financing from the federal Works Progress Administration.

Now as then, the pools “help provide vacations for some people who don’t have the ability to leave the city in the summertime,” Liam Kavanagh, the first deputy parks commissioner, said.

Rules for hitting the deck

The rules are strict about what is allowed on the pool deck.

✅ Yes: white T-shirts, hats, towels, sunglasses, sunblock, flip-flops and a book or magazine are allowed, as well as rash guards of any color.

? No: cellphones, colored shirts, food, newspapers, floaties or glass bottles. (For babies and toddlers, swim diapers are required in the water.)

Some of these regulations might seem a bit severe, but Mr. Kavanagh called them necessary for maintaining public safety and “to prevent a host of issues we’d rather not deal with.”

He acknowledged that “some were created at a time when there was more crime in the city and when we were concerned with problems making pools unpleasant and unsafe.”

Indeed, it can be jarring to look up from sunbathing and see a police officer walking on the pool deck.

But, in general, the pools are a vibrant scene — great for people-watching and introducing yourself to a new part of the city. They are hubs of neighborhood activity; outside the gates, there are food vendors, street musicians, barbecues and plenty of socializing.

Just add water? Hardly!

Parks officials said they work year-round to maintain the pools and prepare them for opening. This includes scraping, patching and repainting the pools, checking water lines for leaks, and maintaining and repairing the filter systems.

“We call it the miracle of outdoor pools,” Mr. Kavanagh said. “But it’s not a miracle. We spend enormous amounts of time and money and have hundreds of park workers preparing them.”

The pools have “amazing mechanical systems,” he added. “Some of them were built decades ago and can filter millions of gallons of water a day.”

The Parks Department started a pilot program last summer that renovated five midsize pools with modern designs — bright paint jobs, decorative art, furniture, umbrellas, plantings and programming like deck games and fitness classes.

Parks officials called them “cool pools” and said their attendance increased by 27 percent. So this summer, they have given the “cool pool” treatment to six more sites.

“It makes them seem like private resorts,” Mr. Kavanagh said. “It’s a nice transformation.”

From The Times

Five key things to know about Tiffany Cabán, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Queens district attorney.

2,500 reports of police bias. Not one was deemed valid by the N.Y.P.D.

At WorldPride, millions are expected to celebrate and, for some, come out.

How subway delays and the homeless crisis are intertwined.

[Want more news from New York and around the region? Check out our full coverage.]

The Mini Crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

The city’s 911 call center in the Bronx is crawling with bedbugs. [Daily News]

Arborists cut down a diseased 125-year-old tree planted by a young Theodore Roosevelt at his former home on Long Island. [Newsday]

One New York Post legend on another: Cindy Adams eulogizes the former columnist Steve Dunleavy, who died on Monday. [New York Post]

Coming up today

Adventurous eaters can try appetizers made with insects at Bug Night, hosted by the New York Hall of Science in Queens. 6:30 p.m. [$25]

“Graffiti Warriors: Bama and Pistol, Pioneers of Subway Art” opens with a reception at City Lore in Manhattan. 6 p.m. [Free]

A performance by the Queens Symphony Orchestra precedes a fireworks display at the Astoria Park Lawn in Queens. 7:30 p.m. [Free]

— Vivian Ewing

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times’s culture pages.

And finally: A Queens street named for Tom Terrific

The address may mean nothing to you — 123-01 Roosevelt Avenue in Queens — but it is home to the New York Mets’ home turf, CitiField. It stands on a stretch of 126th Street that this morning will be renamed to honor one of the team’s greatest stars: Tom Seaver.

That’d be Tom Terrific to you Mets fans.

No. 41.

The Franchise.

By any name, the Hall of Fame pitcher was one of the players most strongly associated with the Mets’ 1969 World Series championship team.

So New York City officials and the team are renaming that stretch of 126th Street as Seaver Way, with the stadium at 41 Seaver Way.

[Take a look back at 1969, the Mets’ magical, mystical year.]

The renaming ceremony, at 11 a.m. today, is open to the public, and is a kickoff event for this weekend’s three-game homestand against the Atlanta Braves that is part of the Mets’ 50th anniversary of that championship season.

On Friday night, the team will give away free 1969 series replica jerseys. On Saturday, there will be an on-field ceremony to honor the 1969 team. Mr. Seaver, who has received a diagnosis of dementia, was not expected to be in attendance, but many of his former teammates were, including Cleon Jones, Ron Swoboda, Bud Harrelson, Jerry Grote and Jerry Koosman.

It’s Thursday — be terrific like Tom.

Metropolitan Diary: Ordering a flagel

Dear Diary:

I was at Tal Bagels on the Upper East Side on a Saturday morning. I was lost in my thoughts, debating capers versus no capers, when I became aware of an older woman in front of me who was holding up the line.

“I said that I would like a flagel, scooped,” she said, gesturing toward the flat discs and explaining her preference for having the carb-y innards removed.

“You can’t scoop a flagel,” the counterman replied, incredulous.

“You can,” the woman said emphatically. She was getting impatient. “You can do it!”

And he did. She got her wish and went on her way, and I left with my own order and a grin.

— Jenny Isakowitz

New York Today is published weekdays around 6 a.m. Sign up here to get it by email. You can also find it at nytoday.com.

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Corey Kilgannon is a Metro reporter covering news and human interest stories. He was also part of the team that won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. @coreykilgannon • Facebook

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