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Parks Facilities, How the Boroughs Compare

Data - July 2015

Parks Facilities, How the Boroughs Compare

New York is home to the country’s oldest, busiest and most expansive parks. These facilities, however, are not equally distributed across the city’s neighborhoods and boroughs. In this data brief, we look at the per capita distribution of Department of Parks and Recreation pools, tennis courts, handball courts and baseball diamonds.

by Adam Forman

Tags: parks recreation infrastructure boroughs

As summer temperatures peak, New Yorkers are flocking to city parks for swimming, sunbathing and sports. New York is home to the country’s oldest, busiest and most expansive parks, including seven of the nation’s 25 oldest and six of the 25 most visited. In all, the Parks Department maintains over 29,000 acres of property, covering 14 percent of the city and encompassing more than 1,000 playgrounds, 800 athletic fields, 550 tennis courts, 14 miles of beaches, 13 golf courses, and four zoos.

These facilities, of course, are not equally distributed across the city’s neighborhoods and boroughs. In this data brief, we look at the per capita distribution of parks facilities within the five boroughs, including pools, tennis courts, handball courts, baseball diamonds and bathrooms. We find that Manhattan is home to the most pools per capita, Queens the most tennis courts and baseball diamonds and Bronx the most handball courts. On the other hand, Staten Island has the fewest tennis and handball courts per capita, Queens the fewest public pools and Brooklyn the fewest baseball diamonds.