Teardrop Park in Battery Park City

I included Teardrop Park in Battery Park City in my list of favorite places to take a break around town, but a repeat visit this past weekend made me eager to share more about why I think it’s such a fantastic little park. Filling the space created between four tall residential towers, the park offers far more than you might think at first glance if you strolled by one of the entrances. Serpentine pathways reveal new and surprising areas of the park at every twist and turn: hidden nooks and secluded benches, climbs to vantage points and features that accentuate the changes in the park’s topography, and excellent play spaces for children of all ages. The plantings and extensive use of stone stand in direct contrast to the surrounding buildings, creating a natural world in which to immerse yourself. The somewhat concealed location of the park means it feels like a hidden gem, and even with perfect weather this past Sunday the park still wasn’t crowded — a rarity in New York.

This most recent visit was our first during the summer months, so my daughter was able to enjoy the park’s water feature. Like much of the rest of the park, it’s built of stone, with waterfalls that cascade down piles of rocks and jets that shoot from the ground and out the sides of the vertical rock faces. The water pools in several places, allowing for maximum splashing and easy bucket filling. Older children will delight in climbing the rocks that surround the water feature and during our visit we were caught several times in the middle of a water gun fight with children racing around and squealing in delight. In quieter moments, it was easy to imagine playing in a stream in the mountains upstate instead of in a park in the middle of the city, which was the goal of the firm responsible for the park’s design who wanted it to “address the urban child’s lack of natural experience, offering adventure and sanctuary while also engaging mind and body.”

Directly south of the water feature is the part of the park we’ve enjoyed so much on previous visits during cooler months – a giant silver slide descending a mountain of stones and a large sand pit ringed with boulders. Amphitheater-Style seating on one side of the sand pit and an overlook above it offer vantage points for watching children (and adults!) make the daring descent down the slide. Scrambling up the stone steps that run along the slide in order to take another trip down is practically a given. Another sand area, this one gated and fenced, can be found behind the amphitheater steps. I couldn’t resist including some photos from past visits in December 2015 (she was so tiny in her gray coat!) and November 2016 here – the park really is beautiful year round, as perfect to explore in the winter months as it is to cool off in during the summer ones.

A few additional details:

• The park is located between Murray and Warren Streets, west of North End Avenue and east of River Terrace. The closest subway stops are the A and C trains and the 1, 2, and 3 trains at the two Chambers Street subway stations. The nearby ferry terminal at World Financial Center offers service to and from several points in New Jersey.
• Public restrooms can be found in the Solaire Building located at the northwest corner of the park.
• Our favorite lunch and dinner options close by include Shake Shack at 215 Murray Street for burgers and fries, Blue Smoke at 255 Vesey Street for barbecue, or Hudson Eats at Brookfield Place, a food hall where you’ll find everything from bagels to Vietnamese sandwiches, tacos, salads, and sushi.

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