Parks and Recreation Areas

Scattered throughout New York's five boroughs are numerous playgrounds, swimming pools and beach areas, sports fields, and parks of all sizes.

The oldest park, Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan, was established as a lawn bowling club in 1732. The two largest parks are both in the Bronx—Pelham Bay, 2,118 acres (857 hectares), and Van Cortlandt, 1, 100 acres (445 ha). Manhattan's largest park, covering 840 acres (340 ha), is Central Park. Bronx Park, almost the same size as Central Park, is divided between the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Wildlife Conservation Park (Bronx Zoo). There are smaller botanical gardens in Queens and Brooklyn, and smaller zoos in Queens, on Staten Island, at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and in Central Park. Battery park on the southern tip of Manhattan is one of the oldest of the city's parks. Gramercy park in Lower Manhattan is open only to neighborhood residents. Coney Island in Brooklyn is a beach and amusement center. There is also parkland on Randalls and Wards islands in the East River.