Among the best ways to experience summer in NYC is to visit one of its many public parks, each a concentrated reflection of the locals (and visitors) who play, gather and rest there. To capture that energy and to get a sense of the varied roles these green spaces play, we sent five different photographers to a park in each of the five boroughs on the same summer weekend. Each one came back with their own vision of how the park displays its personality.
Scroll on for a glimpse into daily life at these places and to read what the photographers learned along the way.
Washington Square Park, Greenwich Village, Manhattan
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For a quick introduction to the energy of the City, head straight to
“This park celebrates the individual. You’ll see people dancing or drawing or playing music, I’m there with my camera and it becomes this exchange of passions. I love that I’m always going to run into someone I know. As I was going there, I was thinking, It would be great if I see my friend Matt Weber [below, with the pigeons on his arm]. That’s where I met Matt, and I just associate him with the park and always being able to find him. I’ll just hang out there for the day and speak to so many different people, who have stories of joy about the park.” —Sara Messinger
Van Cortlandt Park, The Bronx
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If you’ve been to Central and Prospect Parks, you’ll know that NYC has greenery that makes the hustle recede into the background.
“I don't think that many people outside the Bronx know about it; I feel like it’s more for the people living in the area. People go and spend the whole day there. I saw people once we got there in the morning and saw them again when we were leaving in the evening.” —Ahmed Gaber
Silver Lake Park, Staten Island
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At the beginning of the 20th century, when Staten Island was growing quickly and people were tired at the distance they had to travel to enjoy a public park, the conversion of the land around Silver Lake began to take shape. The lake itself, once known as Fresh Pond, had been used for ice-harvesting and -skating in the late 19th century before being turned into the reservoir at the center of
“I’ve always enjoyed that New York City parks harbor unexpected rituals. At Silver Lake I found an array of people that came to forage mulberries, including a young mother and daughter from Ukraine and a woman named Anum, who picked the berries from high-up branches while her children played. In the picture of her [below], it was serendipitous that the color of her headscarf worked in harmony with the color of the mulberries and stains in her hand.” —Adam Pape
Astoria Park, Queens
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When it comes to activities at
“This isn’t like other parks. This isn’t McCarren [in Williamsburg, Brooklyn], where there’s like 40,000 people gathering on a Sunday afternoon and you have to look everywhere to find your friends. It’s more of a family environment. When I realized that, it felt like more of an escape, a reason to be outside and be outdoors. I think the bridges and the buildings across the river make it special in that way. You can see so much of the sky.” —Maridelis Morales Rosado
Maria Hernandez Park, Bushwick, Brooklyn
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Tamales, tarot readers,
“Until I moved to New York City, I’d never seen so much activity happening in a park. It’s very ‘summer’ to me, and specific to the City. It’s a park with a lot of personality, just like the neighborhood. It’s surrounded by street art, thrift shopping and a mix of food, bars and cultures. But it’s important to say that Maria Hernandez is about the Latinx community first. When I had just moved to New York City I went to the park, and everyone spoke Spanish. I remember it felt like home! I was not expecting that.” —Jordana Bermúdez
