Earlier this year, our childhood friend Michael sent us some photos of how the neighborhood we grew up in -- in the Ironbound section of Newark -- looks today. One of the shots that we displayed on this blog was a picture of Hayes Park East Pool, the public swimming pool where we spent many a summer day throughout our childhoods.

It was a pretty forlorn-looking place, even considering that the photo was taken in the dead of winter:

But more recently, news has reached us of a wonderful development. Hayes Park, and the pool, are being renovated, thanks to the generosity of some folks who love the City of Newark and want to see it rise up again under its new leader, Mayor Corey Booker. A story about the project in the Newark-based Star-Ledger, sent to us by our correspondent Michael, is here, and even The New York Times had the news recently.

That photo accompanying the Times story is a real kick. Word has been trickling out that good things are trying to happen in Newark, but that image brings the news home to us like never before. Good for the city.

In the short term, though, the temporary closure of the pool has got to be tough. When the mercury really starts climbing in the mid-to-late summer, that place is a safety valve, and this year it will be unavailable. We remember that for one summer when we were kids, the pool was closed due to a serious drought that was affecting the whole region. We were told that there simply wasn't enough water to fill it up. A couple of our buddies were photographed sitting outside the closed pool complex with glum looks on their schoolboy faces, and the photo appeared on the front page of the Ledger.

No doubt there are some equally disappointed kids this year, but it sounds as though they're really going to have something to cheer about next year. Let's hope that everybody figures out some safe, fun alternate ways to keep cool between now and then.