Misleadingly referred to as the concrete jungle, New York has many and large parks that define and characterize its neighborhoods. At 843 acres, Central Park is our ultimate green space, the 19th-century vision of Olmstead and Vaux. They were genius in their design of this and many other open spaces around town including Morningside, Riverside and Tompkins Square Parks. There are 550 new park acres on the West Side waterfront, running from Battery Park City to nearly the northern tip of Manhattan. Along its length you will find running and biking trails, ball fields, kayaking, and gorgeous views--from the Statue of Liberty and the ever-changing Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge. And there are thirty-two miles of Greenway trials, some of which are safe and picturesque, others which are simply bike lanes of all too heavily travelled roads.
Lower East Side
The East Village is home to immigrant families who have lived in the affordable housing here for generations (paid tribute to in the Lower East Side Tenement Museum and Katz’s Delicatessen, both on Delancey Street). The newly upscale profile of the East Village is headquartered on Rivington Street and embodied by the Rivington Hotel and restaurants like teany. An exploration of the East Village should be done on foot: walk east on First Street at mealtime where you’ll stumble upon Prune. East Village landmarks are Washington Square Park, New York University, and the Strand Bookstore; Tompkins Square Park and Chinatown (visit Pearl River Mart, a Chinese department store) are nearby.