James W. Roe Memorial Pool — Local services in Wayne

Discriminatory, Hostile and Completely Unacceptable

If you are a parent of a child with special needs, stay far away from the Wayne Community Pool.

I am a mother of a 5-year-old boy with autism, and what we’ve experienced here has been nothing short of discrimination, bullying and public humiliation. Two managers in particular-Kevin Batty and Mathew Huppert- have gone out of their way to harass, single out, and target my child in ways that are cruel, unfair and completely unjustified.

My son has been yelled at by staff, forced to wear a diaper when other children aren’t, and treated like a problem simply for existing. Mathew Huppert even screamed at me and threatened to call the police, over minor incidents that were blown completely out of proportion.. all while white families around us broke the same “rules” without a single word.

This is ableism and racial bias, plain and simple.

The manager whispers about my son to all the lifeguards as soon as we arrive, stare at him, and enforce rules selectively. There is no inclusion here. There is no empathy. There is only judgment, power-tripping, and a complete lack of professionalism.

I’ve reported this to the Parks Director and am pursuing legal action, because enough is enough. If this is how Wayne Township allows its staff to treat children..especially those with disabilities-then it is a shameful reflection of this community’s values.

To the management at Wayne Community Pool: you should be ashamed. And to other families don’t wait until it’s your child being humiliated to speak up. This place is not safe, not fair and not...

I was harassed by the pool manager. Older guy with a goatee. I think his name is Tom. As I was waiting for my mom to arrive, I decided to apply sunscreen to my twin daughters. We were by the entrance, off to the side, at the foot of the parking lot. This guy asks me “What are you doing? What are you doing here? Are you going inside? Do you you have a pass?” He reminded me of the countless cops that stopped me on Valley Road driving to and from high school and college when I was younger growing up in Wayne (never got a ticket)...And the store manager that used to follow me around the aisles of the Preakness A&P. I’m 47 years old now, with grey hair and 2 young kids and this guy still feels inclined to discriminate because I’m ethnic. My reply to his probing: “Isn’t it self-explanatory, I’m applying sunscreen to my kids, while I wait for my mom”. Do you think this guy would’ve said anything to me if I were white!?. My mom still lives in Wayne, but I’m so glad I moved to NYC 20+ years ago. There’s been a lot of change and there are some amazing people in the town, but there are still some ignorant people in Wayne. It’s a nice pool, been going for years...but the manager is...

This is the town pool for Wayne, NJ. Sadly, that does mean you'll need to be a resident, pay an exorbitant amount for a membership, and then it's only open during the Summer and late-Spring.

That said, the place is great. It's definitely geared toward younger children and families as the majority of the pool is 4ft 6in or shallower. The deeper areas are adult only or for diving board/slides.

There's a splash pad area with lots of play things, then a sloping area that goes from 0in to 4ft 6in with a giant umbrella in the middle. Then, off to the side there is a great sitting ledge for adults who are watching their kids too.

The pool is heated, well treated, and has lots of life guards (all high school/college kids who look like they're probably members of swim teams), and has lots of seating around the pool...but still want to get there early for a spot.)

Outside the actual pool, this place has a huge playground, a classic "everything tastes like french fries" food stand, cornhole lanes, tetherball, grill stations, and a huge open field to play in.

Great way to...