Where does a city boy with no car go swimming in Queens, New York City in 1953? Answer for this old boy- The Whitestone Pool on 150th St ( I lived on 26th Avenue on 150th St).
I think they opened by 10 am. My friend(s) and I showed up when they opened and stayed several hours. Cost – 60 cents for the day. Not bad. The pool had a slide at about the 4 ft level. Great fun. A 10- ft high diving board at the deep end. And a low level board next to it. I never dove off the high board, but with some cajoling from friends, I finally got the nerve to jump from it.
The water was loaded with chlorine. Your eyes definitely showed and felt it after a day at the pool. You could bring lunch or buy it there. I don’t think I ever bought it ( no $$)
I understand Whitestone Pool is no more. But the memory has certainly stayed with me over 70 years.

Using bus and subway, you could get to the beaches of Coney Island and Rockaway.
As a teen I had friends with access to a car. That opened a bunch of options. The best was Jones’ Beach State Park with Ocean and bay beaches.
With wheels we could also get to Hudson Park in New Rochelle, where my Aunt, uncle and two cousins lived.

Not a lot of choices. But that’s what made spending a few weeks on the chicken farm enjoyable. Yankee Lake and Masten Lake were lotsa fun. More later