New York City Parks Department

The Arsenal
Central Park
830 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10065

Explore New York City Parks!

The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation (colloquially, the Parks Department) is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's residents.

The total area of the properties maintained by the department is over 28,000 acres.

The department maintains more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds and recreation facilities across the five boroughs. It is responsible for over 950 playgrounds, 700 playing fields, 550 tennis courts, 35 major recreation centers, 30 outdoor pools, 14 miles of beaches, and 13 golf courses, as well as seven nature centers, six ice skating rinks, four zoos, four botanical gardens, and four major stadia. Parks also cares for park flora and fauna, community gardens, historic houses, statues and monuments, and more than 2.5 million trees.

The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation produces many special events, including concerts and movie premieres. In the summer, the busiest season, the agency organizes free carnivals and concerts, and sends mobile recreation vans to travel throughout the five boroughs providing free rental equipment for skating, baseball, and miniature golf.

The largest single component of parkland maintained by the department is the "forever wild" Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, with an area of 2,765 acres. The department is also responsible for such "flagship" parks facilities as Central Park, Prospect Park, Van Cortlandt Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and the Staten Island Greenbelt.

Check this BEST Places to Picnic:

• Bronx
• Brooklyn
• Manhattan
• Queens
• Staten Island

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