Tompkins Square Park

Not the best park in the city but a perfect little oasis for the neighborhood kids and dogs. There are separate fenced in areas for the playground, basketball and dog run. On a Saturday afternoon the park was jam-​packed!

It’s a nice East Village Park, probably less known than some of the others in the City, but still a nice open space on a nice day. There are a bunch of statues, people walking their dogs, and people just laying out in the sun. A hidden secret is that on 8^th Street and the southwest corner of this park are lampposts with mosaic tiles. If you walk west from here, there are about 10 light poles with tailored lamp posts. Pretty cool!

Long live Tompkins Square Park.

I will admit to two possible biases with this review:
1 – I remember «the bad old days,» when this park was really a bad haven for drug dealers. While not perfect, the difference between then and now are like night and day.
2 – I like places with a sense of history. This park was a site for the draft riots during the Civil War. Also, the park has a memorial for the victims of the General Slocum disaster. The General Slocum was a steamboat that went on fire in the East River in 1904, killing an estimated 1,021 people, Most, if not all, of the victims came from this neighborhood, which used to be called «Klein Deutschland» («Little Germany»). The fire literally destroyed a neighborhood, as many of the German-​American residents left shortly after the disaster.
Okay, both events are negative, but they were, for better or worse (well, actually worse), major events in NYC history.
That being said, the park does have a few things going for it. It is nice and generally well kept. It has a dog park, which is popular with the locals. The park attracts artists and musicians. It also hosts a small farmers market on the weekend.
In many ways, Tompkins Square Park can be seen as the heart of the East Village. Sometimes I just like to walk around, people watch, and enjoy the atmosphere.
So, yes, I definitely would recommend a stop by this park. And, if you get bored with that, there are a number of nice restaurants & cafes to hang out at across the street on Avenue A.

The park gets hero-​level status for being responsible for gathering all of NY’s costumed canines together once a year for Halloween. That alone is 5-​star worthy. But then there’s the great people watching, the gorgeous scenery, the colorful characters, the proximity to so much nearby food (but RIP Life Café), the presence of so many pups who are adorable even when not in costume.
And someday I’ll be able to stroll through the park resist the urge to hum «I’ll Cover You» from RENT. But that day is not today.

One time I brought my daughter to Tompkins Square Park. She said «where are you taking me»! You can always find a group of stoned out people somewhere sitting around. I don’t think she wanted to see that side of the city. Her friends told her to stay away from the park and neighboring streets. Just keep your eyes and ears open. Things can happen anywhere. I did notice an abundance of rats in this park!
This is really a neighborhood park for those that live on the Lower East Side. I like to wander the streets and shops in the neighborhood. The street art is great.
The park is kept up the best they can. The last time I went I saw park employees working. I’d been hiking so long I needed to use the bathroom. I decided against it. I didn’t feel safe. Too many homeless men hanging out nearby that day.
Every now and then I go to the park to see the changes in neighborhood demographics. I like to document change! Change for the better, or for the worse.
Some great Ice Cream Shops in the neighborhood!

Such a great spirit of the East village neighborhood.
It is a mix of sportive, parent, musician, yoga addict, reader
There is a dog park for little and big dogs ;)
A ping pong table where you can meet other fellow to play
And obviously our favorite «wild» animal the squirrels ;)
Just love hanging out in this park

I don’t frequent NYC parks with the exception of Central Park.
This was my first visit to TSP for the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival and it was super chill to relax, people watch, and listen to jazz on a warm summer Sunday.
No major weirdos so no foul.

This park is always busy. It’s a nice place to hang out. Cops are always around. There’s a community pool and courts.

I really like the events held here for summer, such as musical performances, poetry readings, comedy, etc. A great place to stare at hipsters and other eccentric people of NY. Close to all public transportation.

Nice park to stroll through. I don’t have a dog but I enjoy watching all the doggies at play.

A park in the middle of East Village.
Lots of artists, radicals, fashion lovers, and many who have lived in the neighborhood for decades and witnessed its many changes.
The performances hosted by the park are as unique as its visitors. They have the outdoor drag festival Wigstock, the Howl Festival commemorating Allen Ginsberg, and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.
Nice place for take a break on their benches and people watch. The park is equipped with two playgrounds, a handball court, chess tables, and a basketball court.

The dog park here have huge space for dogs to run around. We didn’t bring any dogs here but it was fun looking at everyone’s dogs running around here. There is also a ping pong table inside this park which is pretty cool.

Nice park. Cool neighborhood. Very sketchy people in park during day and night. Avoid going through it when it’s dark. Lots of cool spots around it.

There are rats here. That is all.

I didn’t know we could review parks. Amazing!
The first time I walked through Tompkins, it was late on a bar night, and we inadvertently walked by 20-somethings…well, it rhymed with ‘gropulating.’ Later, after I moved to the neighborhood, I saw a guy indulging his heroin habit on the corner. I even saw a shirtless dude waving around a machete like he was Inigo Montoya. Weird.
Despite all of this, Tompkins is home to some of New York’s most important protests and rallies; a peaceful coexistence of Crusties and businesspeople; a weekly farmer’s market and dozens of great art and neighborhood fairs; the best damn Halloween Dog Parade this world has ever known, and countless other inimitable qualities.
It’s a wonderful place to take in all the weirdness and greatness New York has to offer, or to forget all about it while sitting by the dog run or laying on a grassy hill. It just wouldn’t be the East Village without this park.

Legendary park.
Located in east village, what else man ?
Court yard is filled with skaters as it is a legendary spot back in the day to meet up.
Basketball courts are nice even though the gravel could use some work. Many nice restaurants and places to eat around.

good for sitting, reading, napping, people watching, dog parking, jungle gyming, chess playing, softballing, soccering, ping ponging, meeting up, chilling out, casual dates, laying out in the sun, rolling on the lush lawn, brown-​bagging lunch for some outside time, strumming a guitar, etc. it’s a park with a multitude of obvious uses – and new ones are being thought of by residents, hipsters, punk rockers, tourists, LIFE HACKERS, etc. all the time. i don’t need to tell you what to do here. just stroll in and relax.
remember no smoking or tipping back booze, beer, wine, etc. in the confines of the park as it’s a public place.
love those sunny mornings. smell of fresh cut summer park grass. stop by… the warm weather and cool breezes will be gone before you know what to do with yourself!
park yourself.

Well back in the day the only good use of this park was waiting on the man (drug dealer). He is dressed in black never early and always late takes no shorts and singles keep it moving or else.
But look at the park today the man is no longer here like anything in life the only thing is constant is change. Having seen this park in its darkest days of NYC its a real pleasure to see the children on the swings and people playing ping pong.
Yea right like we thought back in 1988 people would be playing ping pong, more like people bouncing like ping-​pongs back in the day from crack or getting whacked in the head by NYPD.
There is still a homeless population that is infused in this park, its kind of hard not to miss unless you are stoned or drunk. Look by the dark side of the park you cant miss it even on sunny days.
But overall the park is quite nice with plenty of seating, you can stop at Lukes Lobster, get a Banh Mi or just some tacos and relax as you munch on your meal here. Really like the new vibe its very nice and theres less a chance that you will be accosted or robbed. The real criminals today are the dam squirrels just brazen little fuckers trying to steal your meal.
Cause you should be grateful! If you lived in NYC in the 1970’s or 1980’s everybody was robbed or has a attempted robbery story.
So thanks for change and sunny days cause the Tompkins Square of past is long gone and the new is a breath of fresh air.

Lots of dogs playing in the dog park and people laying on blankets on a sunny day. Where did all the drug dealers go?
Walking through here the other afternoon it seems as if this park has been finally cleaned up a bit after many years of crime and grime. Always fun to watch the dogs play and run around. No more syringes and used condoms laying about.
Seems like a great spot now to sit on a bench to eat lunch, lay on the grass and take in some sun, exercise a little, or just take a stroll to people watch and take in the sights.
One of those being a rat that I saw scurry by. No that wasn’t a squirrel. It was a big ass rat!
Oh well, some things never change.

I met someone here before going out to dinner. Though he was 20 minutes late, I was very entertained by the puppy park and the police investigation going on next to it.
Never really a dull moment here!

Living a block away from Tompkins Square Park makes this my favorite park in the City not just for it’s proximity, but also for all that it has to offer. I’ve lived in the East Village for over a decade and I’ve seen the park transform from a shanty town to a first rate NYC Park.
I can’t count how many weekends I spent watching the dogs play at the dog run while enjoying my breakfast of coffee and cigarettes. The big center field is the perfect oasis in the city which allows all the sun-​worshippers an opportunity to get some Vitamin D and all us creepsters a chance to see what we’ve been missing all winter!
Let’s not forget all of the art, music and summer movies that are played for our enjoyment all year around. Or the playground for kids. Or the dog runs for our little buddies!
Tompkins Square Parks plays hosts to a green market and food drives throughout the week. And what park would not be complete without the characters at the chess tables or the dirty filthy public bathrooms. That’s NYC for you!
Tompkins Square Park. I love you. You’re my only friend.

Recent visit was an exploration to the discovery of a dog park which includes a pool and run/​walk area covered in sand. For the dog lover, the joy to watch and adore dogs chasing balls, jumping in the pool, and playing amongst others enable a great joy away from one’s daily stresses. This is the first dog park I’ve encountered, amid a cat lover.
Free Wi-​Fi service is provided by AT&T. A garden inhabits within Tompkins Square Park, Sandra Turner Garden but is accessible only to admire behind the fence railing. Sundays host free outdoor concerts of emerging musician artists. Temperance Fountain is a beautiful monument. Samuel Sullivan Cox watches over Tompkins Square Park. Facilities are available at decent conditions with bare essentials.