NYC Playgrounds

The East 72nd Street playground is a nice NYC playground because it has unique features such as a climbing/ wide sliding pyramid and tire swings rather than individual ones. The pyramid acts as a non complicated central attraction that kids use as a home base for their play, which creates opportunities for different groups to cross. The wide slides allow more than one child to to use them at a time. The tire swings are a great feature because heavy tires are not fun for an individual child to use, as they wouldn't be able to get a lot of lift and motion out of them. With multiple kids the swings are much more functional. They can use teamwork to cause the swing to move, or hang off of it together as an hanging unstable platform. Either way, the close proximity that a tire swing requires is really conducive to contact. Children usually go to playgrounds alone or in small groups of 2,3,4 children, the amount of children that can fit on the slides and swings exceeds the amount that typically go to playgrounds together, which encourages the inclusion of new group members. There are also tunnels where kids like to congregate and rest. A quiet area such as a tunnel is a great place for kids to sit and socialize in between active play. Friendships can be built on those quieter moments.

Teardrop park playground is unique in that the features are based off of natural boulders and rugged landscapes that do not exist in the city. Located at Warren St. and Murray St. in Manhattan, the playground acts as an urban oasis for local children who see a whole lot of concrete and synthetic materials in their lives. The fact that the kids who visit are being displaced from their normal environment (in a positive way) is likely to encourage them to be more open minded than if they were entirely in their element. The water feature is a starring element that is sure to attract both the children and their watchful parents. It's a small enclosed area that everyone will want to have a part in, facilitating interactions between parents and among their kids.

The Playground for All Children is pretty self explanatory in it's title. The Queens location was designed with features such as signs in braille, a network of wheel chair accessible ramp paths and amphitheater style seating surrounding courts that might be inaccessible to certain children. There is a sprinkler area which i feel is very beneficial for the above mentioned reasons. One of the most exciting features that are fully inclusive, yet do not appear to be specifically for disabled or non disabled kids is the mini village. There are little shelters that imitate a school house, a fire station, a residential house, and different vehicles. These shelters are amazing for pretend play, which fosters friendships that can include all children.