Endurance swimmer to circle Greenwood Lake for hospital charity

Aleksander Mileusnić is set to take on Greenwood Lake in one continuous loop, a nearly 11.5-mile swim that will start and finish at Cove Castle Restaurant on the southern end of the New York side of the lake. The effort is expected to last about eight hours and is being organized as a fundraiser for NYU Langone Hospital and pediatric heart disease.

The swim will be the first complete circumnavigation of Greenwood Lake. Mileusnić will begin at 10 a.m. and cover about 18.5 kilometers, or roughly 750 lengths of a 25-meter pool, as he circles the interstate lake that sits on the New York-New Jersey border.

Greenwood Lake is a tight-knit place with a public profile that stretches well beyond its size. The Village of Greenwood Lake had a population of 2,994 in the 2020 census, and the village incorporated in 1924. The lake is bounded by the Town of Warwick and the Village of Greenwood Lake in New York and West Milford Township in New Jersey, placing the swim squarely in a community shared by both states.

The Greenwood Lake Commission says the lake sits in the Wanaque River drainage area, where water quality affects downstream public water supplies.

Garrett Gardner, a New Jersey musician and friend of Mileusnić, helped spark the idea, while Cove Castle owner Bobby Pereira is among the supporters behind the event. Cove Castle is a waterfront dining destination on Greenwood Lake, and a Hudson Valley eateries listing places the restaurant on the historic Castle Tavern site, dating to around 1937.

NYU Langone pediatric cardiologists diagnose and treat congenital heart defects and acquired heart disease in infants, children and adolescents. Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone was ranked No. 1 in New York for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery in the 2023-2024 U.S. News & World Report children’s hospitals rankings.