List of parks in New York City facts for kids

A map showing major greenspaces in New York City: 1) Central Park, 2) Van Cortlandt Park, 3) Bronx Park, 4) Pelham Bay Park, 5) Flushing Meadows Park, 6) Forest Park, 7) Prospect Park, 8) Floyd Bennett Field, 9) Jamaica Bay, A) Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden, B) Fort Wadsworth, C) Miller Field, D) Great Kills Park

Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States.

A pigeon at Bryant Park

This is a list of New York City parks. Three entities manage parks within New York City, each with its own responsibilities:

• Federal – US National Park Service (NPS) - both open-space and historic properties
• State – New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYSP)
• Municipal – New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR)

The city has 28,000 acres (113 km²) of municipal parkland and 14 miles (22 km) of public municipal beaches. Major municipal parks include Central Park, Prospect Park, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, and Forest Park. The largest is Pelham Bay Park, followed by the Staten Island Greenbelt and Van Cortlandt Park. There are also many smaller but historically significant parks in New York City, such as Battery Park, Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, Union Square Park, and Washington Square Park.

Additionally, some parks, most notably Gramercy Park, are privately owned and managed. Access to these private parks may be restricted.

The City Parks Foundation offers more than 1200 free performing arts events in parks across the city each year, including Central Park Summerstage, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival and dance, theater, and children's arts festivals.

Top ten parks by area

1. Pelham Bay Park, Bronx - 2,772 acres (11.22 km²)
2. Greenbelt, Staten Island - 2,316 acres (9.37 km²)
3. Freshkills Park, Staten Island - 2,200 acres (8.9 km²)
4. Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx - 1,146 acres (4.64 km²)
5. Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens - 897 acres (3.63 km²)
6. Central Park, Manhattan - 843 acres (3.41 km²)
7. Marine Park, Brooklyn - 798 acres (3.23 km²)
8. Bronx Park, Bronx - 718 acres (2.91 km²)
9. Alley Pond Park, Queens - 655 acres (2.65 km²)
10. Forest Park, Queens - 544 acres (2.20 km²)

While Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is larger than any of the parks listed above, at 9,155 acres (37.05 km²), it is not listed in the above rankings since it is a wildlife refuge and not an active-use park.

List of parks by borough

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation maintains a complete list of all parks.

The Bronx

Joyce Kilmer Park

St Mary's Park

East Bronx

West Bronx

South Bronx

A sub-section of West Bronx.

Brooklyn

Calvert Vaux Park

Continental Army Plaza

Dreier-Offerman Park

Seaside - Asser Levy park

Manhattan

Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza

Columbus Park

Tribeca Park

Queens

Captain Tilly Park

Rufus King Park

Staten Island

Buono Beach

* Denotes playgrounds jointly operated with the New York City Department of Education.

List of former parks by borough

Manhattan

• St. John's Park

See also

• 10-Minute Walk
• List of privately owned public spaces in New York City
• List of New York state parks
• New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
• Park Conservancy
• List of New York City parks relating to Hispanic and Latino American culture
• List of New York City parks relating to Irish American culture
• List of New York City parks relating to Jewish culture
• List of New York City parks relating to the Vietnam War
• List of New York City parks relating to World War I
• Skateparks in New York City