+Pool creators launch art installation that tracks East River water quality

Good morning, and welcome to New York Minute, a new roundup of the New York City news you need to know about today. Send stories you think should be included to tips@curbed.com.

See what a floating East River pool might look like

The creative minds at Playlab and Family New York have been working to realize a concept they call +Pool—a floating swimming hole, shaped like a plus sign, that would filter water from the East River to make it safe for paddling—for close to a decade now. And while we’re still a ways off from being able to go for a dip in the river, an art installation near the South Street Seaport conceived by those firms aims to show what the +Pool concept might look like.

Dubbed +Pool Light, the piece features 50 LED lights configured in the shape of the proposed pool, with the lights changing color based on the condition of the water at any given time. (How will they do that? By using an algorithm that’s “computed based on environmental conditions and data pulled from sensors placed in the East River at Pier 17.”) There’s also a public dashboard so curious onlookers can see what, exactly, is happening in the river.

Earlier this year, the NYC Economic Development Corporation issued a RFEI seeking ideas for a floating pool concept—so we may see the real thing in action at some point.

The 14th Street busway, day one

By all accounts, the first day of the 14th Street busway was a success, at least in terms of speeding up buses. AM New York’s Vincent Barone live-tweeted from 14th Street (and an M14 bus), and found plenty of traffic cops enforcing the new rules of the road, as well as one bus rider who said that the difference in speeds is “unbelievable.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the lack of traffic on the thoroughfare made buses so fast that some drivers had to driver slower to stick to their schedules. The DOT and MTA anticipated that the new traffic restrictions would increase speeds on 14th Street by about 25 percent.

And in other news…

• For around $200, you can take an Uber Copter to JFK Airport. (Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.)
• A City Council bill seeks to keep vendors away from the spectacle that is the Dyker Heights Christmas lights.
• A $192 refinancing deal may mean Harry Macklowe’s dreams of building another Midtown supertall are closer to becoming a reality.
• The reconstruction of the landmarked Tin Building at the Seaport is moving right along.
• Rikers Island is home to “the nation’s oldest and largest prison garden,” known as the Green House.
• The new Hunters Point Library has an accessibility problem.
• Why so many churches have recently partnered with developers—or sold their buildings outright.
• And finally, a vintage video showing how the Empire State Building was constructed:

Happy Friday, folks.