As a kid I would come to this park all of the time. It's fairly big and never too packed. There is…read morea small area for dogs( if you have a small dog just be careful because the gates are large and they may slip through the gates) there is a nice size playground, water area, basketball courts, handball,skating area and bathrooms in the middle. This park is hidden in the neighborhood so I dont think many people in the ridgewood area know about it. A block or so up is the YMCA and a police station. Its also not far from the freshpond train station for the M train. It's about 2-3 blocks from freshpond. I really like this park and I definitely recommend this place to others.

This should be categorized under PARKS, but the menu did not allow that…read more Mafera Park is located just a few blocks from the Fresh Pond Road station of the M Line. It is the best park in this part of Ridgewood, and is only steps away from the Police Precient. It is equipped with softball fields, racket ball courts, a basketball court, and possibly a roller-hockey field. (Although I'm not sure if it is still in place after the renovation.) The softball field recently has a major renovation which turned the grass into astroturf. I'm not sure if that is an improvement, but I know it makes for very uncomfortable picnicking. The softball field is very actively used by the community. My review here will focus on the playground, which is what I use the most. This playground is extremely active and often very crowded, except in the very early morning hours. It can often be too crowded which is why we exclusively go when it is less crowded. This community has a LOT of children, more than MANY neighborhoods. The playground has two distint areas, one for toddlers, and the other for grade-school kids. The toddler area is equipped with baby swings, and a jungle gym featuring two slides, a bridge, a fireman pole, a tick-tac toe and various other features on this kind of equipment. The grade-school kids area has larger swings, and a jungle gym area featuring a bridge, various levels of height, a double slide, and a twisty curvy slide. It also has many ladders and a various fireman poles and a some monkey bars. Lastly there is another piece of equipment detached from the other areas that features a double slide and a few levels. The middle of the park has a sprinkler area in the shape of round balls with a central area for getting wet. Now that the description is out of the way.... I go to this park nearly every weekend with my daughter. In the summertime, the sprinklers aren't open till around 10:00 - 10:30. The Park Dept generally comes around 9 and opens the bathrooms that are typical park bathrooms, stinky and "clean enough if you have no where else to go". There is also one water fountain that is usually clogged with leaves, debris and water balloons. I find the equipment adequate for it's purposes by am dismayed by the lack of attention this well used park gets in terms of maintenance. The double-slide in the grade-school area has had a sharp ding on the right slide for over six months. If a kid is going down this slide fast, they can easily cut their hands on this ding. After repeated complaints, the city has not fixed it. All it takes is a metal file to file it down. Why it still hasn't been fixed is beyond me. An area near the toddler swings, just short of the sprinklers has indentations in the cement where it has sunk. As a result this area is always filled with water and leaves. Why hasn't the city flattened this area out? The playground itself is open to the rest of the park without a fence seperating it from the rest of the park. Almost all decent playgrounds have some sort of containing fence to contain the kids who WILL wander off. I don't understand why this park does not. On the weekends, this park gets very dirty. I wish it was cleaned more often. There are rubber tiles on the ground of the park in only a few areas that are coming apart. Toddlers learning to walk easily trip on this thing. My basic complaint is the lack of resources this park has. Comparing this park to other parks around the city. -3rd Street Playground in Prospect Park. It has triple the number of features and equipment for a larger variety of age groups. It is particular important for the really young babies, where there is a large learning curve between 12 months and 24 months. It was cordoned off, like most playgrounds. - 9th Street Playground in Prospect Park. Features a sand pit, two sets of sprinklers, and two extra large jungle gyms, and a staff that is on duty during the day. And wow, what nice bathrooms for the public. - Hecksler Playground - The biggest sandpit I have ever seen in a park. A mote on various levels. The asphault on the ground is very soft so when kids fall they don't get hurt. - Union Square Park - Again much nicer. - 23rd Street Park (Manhattan) - Again much nicer. So the elephant in the room is.... How come parks in Ridgewood aren't this well equipped? We are one city where resources are allocated equally... I think not... We know the truth.

Such a fun playground. But gets way too packed on the weekends and in the evening. With the C word…read moreon the rise again, just not the best place for us to go on warmer days now a days. But nice in the spring to fall, as long as its not too crowded.

Boy do we love this playground! It's next to the Triassic playground but we prefer going to this…read moreone. It's so cute and even during busy times there's plenty to do for kids. The road to get here is narrow but conveniently right next to the playground. There are a few picnic tables and often lots of grilling by families. The playground is next to the lake. And the lake has alot of ducks and turtles. We had fun feeding them with some bread we brought with us. Most of the playground area is padded which is nice. There are separate areas for swings, a small area for the sprinklers during hot days and plenty of benches to sit. Next to the playground is more flat, green areas. Perfect for picnics and hanging out.

This place is a decent size park that is usually empty. I remember coming here a lot as a kid to…read moreplay handball. Now, I'm not sure why its empty. It has swings for the little ones, 6 basketball hoops, sprinklers a handball court and 2 playgrounds. There are plenty of benches to sit and it's a block away from a corner store and a Chinese restaurant. It has a nice. View of the Manhattan skyline. There is also plenty of street parking.

A great little neighborhood oasis for recreation, with a superb playground, basketball courts, a…read moregiant soccer field, restrooms and plenty of benches with shade. The only downside are the drug dealers and the motocross daredevils poppin' wheelies up and down Putnam Avenue. Hopefully it'll change in the near future.

I try to visit this park almost every day since I am not working. It is shady and has a…read morewalking/jogging path that goes all the way around it equalling about 1/4 mile. You will see many families, people exercising, and doing yoga. There are two playgrounds and many other game areas as well as bathrooms. I walk here to use the walking and jogging path, as well as sit down afterwards and admire the trees and the view West of midtown. There are also benches specifically for doing sit-ups and pull-ups. Unlike many of the parks in the city, you will not see homeless people here or drug addicts. There is quite a bit of litter on the ground which is sad, since there are so many garbage cans in the vicinity. However, I am so happy to have found this park near my residence.

I'm delighted to have discovered this park. It appears small on a map, and it is, but feels wide…read moreopen and spacious once you're walking in it. There are trees, slopes, benches and all the other usuals in adequate abundance. I was worried that since it is near a high school it would become crowded and loud, but not so. The teenagers are scarce and mostly very polite. It is a happy place, where people bring their kids and dogs. For us young at heart, the swings are often available :) Pro-tip: for a tranquil, quiet stroll visit the ancillary cemetery where you can walk completely unhealed.

Scary, unkempt playground now. Tragic that such a great space had fallen onto such disrepair.read more

Playground for All Children is one of my favorite Queens playground. Some would say it's rundown,…read moreor needs improvement, I find it unique with its well thought out design. This park has so much to offer, especially if you know it's history. Playground for all Children was first built in 1984, designed to accommodate both disabled or able-bodied children - the first of its kind in the country. You would notice the wheelchair-accessible ramps, blind friendly textured path with braille signs marking along the way, handrails that can be reached by children using crutches or wheelchair to highlight a few features. There has been a few upgrades, like a sensory garden was introduced in 2006. My favorite feature would be the musical elements integrated throughout the park. It's magnetizing design and material was what attracted me most. While I would agree it isn't as shiny or well maintained as Gantry, Hunters or Domino Park in particular, this park offers so much serenity and joy. For instance, Flushing Meadow Park is great for bird watching. The literal kind. In particular, it was magnificent coming to the park and I saw... a downy woodpecker? I'm not quite sure if it's a downy or a hairy woodpecker, but it's small size would indicate it's a downy. I was drawn in by its pecking sound and in awe of it's rare sighting. I never seen a bird like that up close. Needless to say, my serendipitous time was well spent this morning- bird watching. This park offers plenty to do. They offer a distinctive Amphitheatre seating surrounding its basketball courts. The seating may be a bit outdated, in need of repair, a paint job or upgrade in fact. However, this characteristic was welcoming. In fact, there's plenty of seating throughout the park. So much little gems if you spend the time looking at its simplistic beauty. They have a bunch of shaded picnic tables for your outings, a play section consisting of a school bus, fire truck, school house, etc., new swing set, and an enclosed area for badminton, scootering etc. A con to be aware of, would have to be the parking, or lack of. Be forewarn, NYC has an anti-car movement coming in strong, privatizing public street parking. Don't get me started on the open/closed streets. If you're going to drive, and spend an awesome day with everything flushing meadow park has to offer, (Hall of Science, Queens Zoo, International Night Market, Queens Museum) then come early. Otherwise, there is the 7 train to 111st, and a few walkable blocks to a fabulous day.

School yard sports in my area, in my day, consisted of handball, stickball and basketball. These…read morememories of years gone by are quite vivid and what sticks out most is the basketball games. Our team of five used to be a force to play against, all who had played organized ball, myself the weakest offensive link at the power forward position. (But I could really crash the boards) The rims were so tight here, actual lines painted upon the blacktop, top of the key, etc. I loved hooping it up here and marvelled at the cleanliness, the young families coming out with their little ones, older folks chatting in the mid-day sun. And the chugga chugga turning of the LIRR train wheels.. Very NYC!

This park on Austin Street is pretty great. They recently added a closeable gate but it's only on…read moreone side of the entrances to the playground. There's still other ways to get in that have no gates. But it's a start. Hopefully they can fix this by next year. The playground and swing sets are in good condition. The restroom is fairly clean for a public park restroom. I've seen far worse. I have a few complaints about this park. The honking from the traffic. There should be a no honk sign in this residential section of Austin St. Nearly every car and especially during rush hour, everybody honks at the stop sign intersection. The LIRR is already disturbing enough, add honking from impatient motorist just makes things ten times worse. I also often witness road rage in front of the park. It's a one lane, one way street towards Ascan Ave and whenever one person is parallel parking, everyone behind goes bonkers and often leading to verbal outrage. My second complaint would be the crosswalk, again, because of the traffic and idiotic drivers, there should be more signs to yeild to pedestrians and perhaps a blinking yellow light to alert motorist. My third complaint is the cleanliness of the park. The parks department does a awful job at maintaining the park. The staff often stands around fiddling with their phones while letting their leaf blower idle at low power. The gas fumes from their leaf blower stink and they do it right next to the children. They do the worse job sweeping the leaves and branches and they barely ever pickup any trash unless it is reported to 311. The park inspector that comes to inspect the playground equipment has the laziest job of all. He or she just walks around the park for a few minutes and leaves. Makes zero note of the filth and unattended litter. My last and final complaint are most of the fathers in this park. They're dicks. Super unfriendly and rude. They behave like children with their dickish tough guy attitude. A majority of the mothers, caretakers, babysitters, and grandmothers who bring their children to this park are fine. Pretty much all the females are the nicer ones here. They're very much polite and respectful of other people's belongings and when encountering with other people's children. I can't say the same about the fathers here. They act like everything belongs to them, they never ask or start with a greeting. Verdict - if you live in this section of Forest Hills, this is probably you're nearest public park. The other would probably be Forest Park. This one isn't bad but just be prepared when you come across a father who wants a dick measuring contest. The park itself is great. Plenty of ground for kids to run around, the basketball courts and handball courts are often empty. It's mostly young children, it's not a teenager hangout spot or for punks who smoke pot in the playground among children. It's a safe park and I highly recommend it despite the noise, poor park maintenance from the parks department, and the a-hole fathers.

I came here with my small (11lb) dog to use the dog run. The first thing I noticed were the huge…read moregaps around the fences in the "air lock" entrance, plenty big enough for my dog to get through if he really tried. A smaller dog would have no problem slipping out. Second thing I immediately noticed were the mountains of dog shit EVERYWHERE. It was disgusting. We left after only a few minutes. It's disgraceful that people don't pick up after their pets in a public space so close to a playground. Safe to say we we'll never becoming back here.

Great neighborhood park since forever!…read more I've been gong here for 15+ years and it now makes me think of Woodstock & The Summer of Love. Killer vibe, extremely diverse crowd - locals & transplants - and tons of BKLYN Hipsters & Hippies! This is the Beautiful Nightmare the Far Right is afraid of but it's all Love, Peace & Music!!!

This is a decent sized Bushwick park. It has a good amount of bench seating. The central area…read moreattracts a lot of skateboarders and there's a nice set of mini hills that work for roller scooters as well. A nice place to catch a bit of fresh air.