I hopped off the F-Train drenched in sweat as I'm battling a two headed monster of some sort of…read morestomach virus and the New York summer humidity. I was slowly trotting home, when I looked to the right to check out the basketball courts that border Houston street. I was sizing up the competition when I saw the unmistakable silhouette of a stocky, 5'10 Jewish man in a 2XL polo and basketball shorts past the knees. "There's no way..." I said out loud to myself. There was Adam Sandler playing low level half court pick up basketball. This was the most New York thing to ever happen to me. I whipped my phone out and started filming along the other 8 patrons that were likely stopped in their tracks just like I was. After scouting him for 10 minutes, here's what I will say about his game: He is unselfish to a fault. He hurts his team by overpassing. He needs to look for his shot more and be more aggressive to at least keep the defense honest. It was painful to watch him over-facilitate. However, it is a MUCH more pleasant experience to play with someone like the Sandman than 90% of the population who just shoot every time they touch the rock. Pretty rad experience. I think Adam Sandler is one of the coolest on the planet right now. I was a tad star-struck... IG @jnov_ Tiktok @jnov__

Not one of the worst or one of the best public parks in Manhattan, and could use an overall upgrade…read morebut serves it's purpose. I passed through and by it many times during my marathon training runs to the lower east side and through Chinatown area. It's a 7-8 acre park with basketball courts, children's playground, soccer field with running track around it, and roller skating rink. The park is named after Sara Roosevelt (1854-1941), the mother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

One of my favorite NYC parks. My best friend has lived less than a five minute walk from the park…read moresince we graduated from art school way back when (decades now). I spend a lot of time in New York and always look forward to people watching in Tompkins Square. It's a haven for folks from all walks of life from the artistic and creative to the Wall Street type dude. Lots of characters! Lots of dogs...even better! Central to all of the best spots in Alphabet City (restaurants, bars, and shops). Love having a morning coffee here or a true New York slice while people watching.

Pleasant park to stroll through. Lots of sitting areas and saw a lot of people walking their dogs…read morehere. Many food joints nearby.

A beautiful small park featuring a kids' playground, a summer pool, basketball and handball courts,…read moreplus outdoors exercise machines. Just be careful where you walk, though. It's gotten pretty popular with some privileged and entitled neighbors who let their dogs run around, leaving messes everywhere.

Brilliant large park in the East Village that revolves around the recreation center and the huge…read morepool. Surrounded by a nice tall wrought iron fence. The park initially opened on June 1 1900 and has been expanded and restored a number of times. The park includes basketball courts, handball courts (in use today and these guys are good!), squash courts, spraygrounds and fitness equipment. Bathrooms and changing rooms for the pool and supposedly wifi hot spots. As for the strange name, that was New York's 16th governor Hamilton Fish (1808-1893) who served in 1849-1850 and later went on to be a US Senator (1851-1857) and Secretary of State under President Ulysses Grant (1869-1877). [Review 15692 overall - 284 in New York - 1196 of 2021.]

Any true hooper knows how frustrating it is to play without a net on the rim…read more There are few joys in life like stepping in to a rhythm jumper and knowing right when it leaves your hand that that thing is in. SPLASH! BOTTOMS UP! Cut to jogging down the opposite end of the court cracking a cocky smile while furrowing your eyebrows, feeling yourself a little bit too much. These moments have your internal dialogue saying "damn if I hadn't messed my knee up back in high school I may be chasing my 5th ring rn..." THIS IS WHAT IS AT STAKE. Tompkins has been robbing us of this basic human need for the past year and some change by not having any nets on these rims. Get it together.

Volo Sports NYC Soccer League at Sternberg Park is a Total Scam!! Avoid at All Costs and Start Your…read moreOwn League Instead. If you're considering soccer at Sternberg Park, save your money and start your own amateur league. You won't be wasting $150+ per person for Goals that blow away in the wind Fields marked by crooked plastic cones A referee who doesn't move and can't see the game An automated phone line that never connects you to a person "Weather updates" that are completely inaccurate A league that lets certain players jump from team to team A referee who plays favorites and dismisses legitimate complaints based on your accent. If you're considering signing up for Volo Sports NYC's Sternberg Park soccer league, DON'T. It's a rip off, a disorganised mess, and borderline corrupt. Our team showed up to play one night only to find the field covered in snow. Despite this, we were ready to play. The Volo referee and rep on-site told us it was too dangerous and the game was rescheduled. We did not refuse to play we were sent home. A few days later, Volo dug themselves into a hole by claiming our team "chose not to play" and that all games had gone ahead as scheduled. This was either a blatant lie or something even worse the referee deliberately sent us home while allowing other games to go ahead. We also raised concerns about the referee's ongoing bias against our team, especially after he made comments about our accents. This was completely ignored in Volo's responses, they outright refused to even address it. Volo's customer service is beyond useless. Their phone line is fully automated, forcing you to press option after option only to end up in a loop with no way to speak to a human. The weather hotline was also completely wrong, claiming all games were going ahead despite the fact that their own staff told us not to play. It took multiple emails for them to finally admit their mistake and reschedule the game. Instead of owning up immediately, they tried to gaslight, dismiss, and blame us. The volo rep is a nice guy, but the referee, an absolute disgrace. From the start, he had it out for us, making dismissive comments, telling us to "calm down" and shut up if we made loud calls to our own players in game. Other teams roster manipulation was a regular occurrence. Despite Volo doing a roll call before each game, the ref encouraged teams to bring in ringers and some of his own friends while acting like we were the problem for playing competitively. The second anyone points out that it's possible he may not be able to see everything by standing in one place you get threatened with a yellow card. I regularly come home with ankle cuts and bloody knees from other teams player but the referee claimed our team calls foul when any sort of physical tackle is made, it's a contact sport, the game is gone. Instead of rewarding teams that show up with full rosters, they create an environment where teams are better off showing up short handed so they can get a "ref approved" ringer subbed in. It's an absolute farce. Despite the referee's blatant attempts to stop us from making the playoffs, WE STILL DID. That's how much of a joke this league is even when they tried to manipulate the season against us, we still made it. Volo Sports NYC is not just overpriced, it's a scam. They take your money, deliver a subpar, borderline rigged experience, and then try to gaslight their own paying customers when called out. The lack of integrity, fairness, and basic customer service is shocking. One of the so called "perks" of the league is discounts at a bar. Except the bar is a mile away from the field, and the discount is literally just $1 off after you pay full price first. That's not a benefit, that's an insult. If you're looking for a well run, professional, and fair soccer league in NYC look elsewhere. I give them 1 star only because their volleyball league is pretty awesome and I'm happy to admit it.

I had positive experiences when they were NYC Social however since rebranding to Volo Sports I felt…read morethe service has dropped off significantly. I signed up for a Pickleball league in February 2024 to start in May however the league we were notified three times (April 10, April 26th and May 7th) that the league would be delayed and as a result, I can only attend half the games now. I never agreed to the schedule change and they refuse to refund my registration fees.

This is the best field to play 8v8 soccer , the size of the field and the size of the goals are…read morejust perfect . It's also located very close to the street , and u can see all the cars and the bikes moving , which makes it even cooler . Also the place is surrounded by big trees .

I play soccer here on weekends in a league and the occasional pickup game when the field isn't…read morebeing used - which is rarely as this field is in a great location and sees a lot of use. As a result, Nike Field is in terrible condition: there are huge areas of turf which are completely worn out. Other spots near the seams have giant flaps that are definitely hazardous - I've seen plenty of guys get tripped up and the potential for injury is high. I'm not sure what the association with Nike is, if they are still considered a sponsor of this field they (and the NYC Parks and Recs dept) should be ashamed of themselves for how neglected this field is. It's a great field in a great location and would definitely get more stars if it was repaired.

Sat in this "Miracle Garden" on a green wooden bench, surrounded by greenery, as I verbally…read moreaccepted a new job offer. I lit up a menthol capri cigarette while sipping my iced americano to celebrate. Some real East Village sh*t. I'm excited about the new job, but 100x more excited about the 3 weeks I have until I start. There is nothing like the peace of mind that comes with the gap between jobs. You can completely check out of a work mindset, but also have a date where you know you are locking back in and have a steady paycheck. It's true freedom. No stress. I get to just spend all my time doing things I want to do?!? Maybe this is how life should be all the time... I can't WAIT. I'm gonna take a couple trips and soak up some culture, write a bunch, play some basketball, go to a few restaurants at odd times during the week when I normally would need a res weeks in advance, maybe read a book (probably not though), and just decompress. Do only things that feed my soul. Do things for the sole purpose of wanting to do them. I actually pray for times like this... Okay I'm doing the most now, but this time is so valuable and I can't wait to make the most of it. Thank you Miracle Garden for being the catalyst for me to get these thoughts off my chest. These little gardens randomly sprinkled in the Lower East Side are so clutch... I wonder how long until people start developing them into apartment buildings smh... IG @jnov_ Tiktok @jnov_reviews

Every corner in EV has a hidden community garden. Summer is such a great time to hang out in this…read moreneighbourhood. Sit back, read a book, sip on iced coffee or just chat with a friend. Public space is such a premium in NYC! You can't beat Tompkins for people watching, but here's a little piece of quiet.

I prefer the 36DD garden, or I guess she just increased to 36GG garden, so that's fun…read more Nice little community garden that adds a little green space to an otherwise Concrete Jungle area and that's always a good thing and you can't really go wrong when you're adding lovely Community Gardens to the urban landscape of Manhattan.

I came across this cute park by accident…read more It had been a long day and walking in here was a great idea. It's so peaceful. Plenty of pretty flowers. Lots of benches available. A great place to relax, read a book, and listen to the birds.

6 BC Botanical Garden 624 E. 6th. St…read more New York, NY 10009 There is a tranquil garden nestled away in the Lower East Side. This hidden oasis has multiple seating areas where you can admire the sights of a rock garden, koi pond with a mini waterfall, and a tree house. It is the perfect place to eat your breakfast, lunch, or snack. It is also a nice area to socialize among your peers. Be sure to add this to your bucket list because it is a relaxing destination for all ages! #6bcbotanicalgarden #plantlife #treehouse #rockgarden #koipond #pond #lowereastsidenyc #alphabetcity #lowereastside

My family and our friends came to the 6BC Botanical Gardens to see the Nightmare Before Christmas…read morelight show. This was an incredibly exciting experience. I went with a couple of friends of mine and we all had a lot of fun. The music was really great and the lights took you through the movie from beginning to end. The sculptures were also really cool and I was so happy to see my favorite characters. They incorporated the main movie characters including Jack, Sally, and my personal favorite Zero. They also had Oogie Boogie, and they also had Lock Shock and Barrel. But they also had many of the secondary characters including the clown with the tearaway face, and a few of the witches. It was as if I was walking through the movie and seeing some of the scenes in real-time. The best words that I could use to describe the experience are magical and immersive. I'm glad that I went and I know that we all had a great time.

We brought our Little here on a warm weekend since I had a few places to visit in and around the…read moreVillage/Chinatown. We love taking her to different parks and playgrounds, because they all can be so different. The playgrounds in the city are loads different than the ones in the 'burbs, way more diverse, with many more children running around. This particular playground is located on the southern end of Sara D. Roosevelt Park, in LES. It's a large park with a basketball court and a sizeable area for children of all ages, to play. Despite there being so many children and families present, it did not feel overly packed at all. There are plenty of different sections in which to play. We started with the swings and tire swings. My Little dominated their rope climbing feature. There are plenty of structures on which to climb. Hubby, myself and our daughter, all took advantage of being kids, taking turns pretending we were pirates trying to steal a captain's treasure. It's a perfect place to tucker your kids out. There are plenty of benches so that you can sit and let you kids just run wild. All the children I saw playing, were playing in a kind manner, not being too rough with one another. They event have a sections for smaller children, with supportive swings and structures to walk around and inside. There's also a sandbox feature that I didn't feel too comfortable letting my kiddo play in due to general cleanliness.

What a wonderful playground! Very few stand the chance to compare with what this play space has to…read moreoffer. I dropped by on a Saturday morning with my daughter and we were here for almost 2 hours! It gets busy, but since the place is big, it doesn't feel too crowded. The afternoon may be a different story, though. The playground has: 2 racketball courts 2 basketball courts 1 Small climbing wall 1 Small spider web Restrooms 2 Sets of structures catering different toddlers ages Plenty of benches in the shade Multiple water fountains Sounds and smells of Chinatown A sandpit Your kids will not be disappointed. Just check my pics. Recommended!