In a city surrounded by water, finding free or affordable swim lessons for kids can be confoundingly hard, creating a headache for parents and a public safety crisis, according to some advocates.

Six people have drowned off of New York City beaches since June, surpassing last summer’s total. Four of this season's victims were teenagers.

“This happens year in and year out — when is it going to be too many?” said Shawn Slevin, founder of the Swim Strong Foundation, which aims to reduce drownings and promote swimming. “All of us can change this. We can be a premier aquatic city.”

Citing climate change and more frequent heat waves, Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has touted a $1 billion investment in Let’s Swim NYC, a program that aims to build and improve pools run by the city’s parks department and schools.

"The Adams administration is working every angle to ensure New Yorkers not only have access to the water but can be safe on our shorelines and in our pools,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi.

At the same time, the administration has struggled to hire enough lifeguards, while rejecting calls for longer lifeguard hours at beaches. Adams has said parents should do more to educate children about water safety.

But finding swim lessons is complicated. The high costs of renting, maintaining and staffing pools drive up the price of lessons, which can sometimes top $200 per hour.

Finding free or affordable swimming lessons in the city can be a daunting endeavor.

Liam Quigley

The parks department, certain schools and nonprofits all offer some free lessons — but securing a spot can feel like a longshot. While the parks department offered lessons to 20,000 participants last year, slots are only available by lottery.

There’s also no online clearinghouse listing all the options.

Councilmember Shekar Krishnan of Queens, who chairs the parks and recreation committee, introduced a bill this month calling for an aquatics atlas that would serve as a central database of municipal pools and programs.

“As a parent of two small children who are also learning how to swim, I see firsthand how hard it is to figure out where there are swim classes in New York City,” said Krishnan, whose district does not include a single public pool.

Krishnan and Councilmember Julie Menin of Manhattan are working with the Gray Foundation to fund free swim lessons for second graders at public schools. The initiative plans to serve 2,600 students this year and grow over time.

“No parent should ever be in the position of burying a child because they don’t know how to swim,” Menin said.

Nora Cronin, program director of the +POOL nonprofit that plans to set up a floating pool in the East River, said the biggest obstacle to affordable lessons is access to pools. She said the city should encourage more public-private partnerships where apartment buildings, universities and gyms open their pools for low-cost lessons.

“Private pools have really proliferated,” said Cronin. While the parks department maintains 53 public pools across the boroughs, there are reportedly 15,000 private pools in the city.

Where to find free swim classes in NYC

  • The city's parks department offers free lessons by lottery at locations across the city. The deadline for registration is Aug. 2.
  • +POOL has free swim lessons for youth and adults. Donors also cover costs of a swimsuit, cap, goggles, towel, and bag.
  • Rising Tide Effect offers free lessons to groups at several sites in Rockaway and Brooklyn. The nonprofit has offered free lessons to hundreds of youth at the Rockaway Hotel and Chelsea Piers. It hosts the NYCHA Swim Corps, serving young people 16-24 with swim lessons, summer jobs and career training in aquatics.
  • Swim Strong Foundation offers thousands of scholarships for its classes.

There are 53 public pools across the five boroughs and a reported 15,000 private pools

Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

Fee-based swim classes in NYC