NYC Parks continued to face financial shortfalls in the coming years, and the pools retained a reputation for high crime. For the summer of 1991, mayor David Dinkins had planned to close all 32 outdoor pools in the city, a decision that was only reversed after a $2 million donation from a trust created upon the death of real estate developer Sol Goldman and $1.8 million from other sources. To prevent nighttime trespassing, NYC Parks added a heavy steel fence in 1993, which was attached to the existing chain-link fence around the pool. Additionally, in the 1990s, a practice called "whirlpooling" became common in New York City pools such as Betsy Head Park, wherein women would be inappropriately fondled by teenage boys. By the beginning of the 21st century, crimes such as sexual assaults had decreased in parks citywide due to increased security. In 2008, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Betsy Head Play Center a landmark, making it the first individual landmark in Brownsville. The commission had previously considered the pool for landmark status in 1990, along with the other ten WPA pools in the city.
