New York City is full of parks. The more my wife and I walk around, the more obvious that becomes. There are many more parks here in the northern part of Manhattan than there are on the Lower East Side, or at least it seems that way. Everywhere you look, there are trees and grass. Not that that’s a bad thing. It helps to break up the monotony of concrete and high rise buildings. It gives a greener, fresher scent to the air up here. And, best of all, it makes our walks and jogs a lot more visually appealing.
Jackie Robinson Park isn’t exactly a park you can jog through though. It’s a narrow strip that runs north-south from 155th Street down to 145th Street, between Edgecombe Avenue and Bradhurst Avenue.
Half of the land occupied by the park is a steep slope that’s mostly unusable, except for sets of stairs spaced at intervals to help people get from Edgecombe to Bradhurst, and vice versa. The area that is flat has been used to build playgrounds for young kids, basketball courts, and a pool complex. It’s actually pretty nice looking.
I’m almost always impressed by how good city planners are about utilizing every bit of space in Manhattan, though I shouldn’t be surprised. When you’re working with a limited resource, you have to make the most out of it.
Bradley Farless 