Jonathan Douglas

Wonderful public playground on the south side of Central Park. There are numerous play areas with swings, jungle gyms and other more natural play structures with sand and wood chip base. The feature in the summer has to be the enormous water play area that starts up high near Umpire Rock and follows a series of viaducts and turrets that kids can walk along with the flow of water all the way down to the ground, where there are more sprinklers and fountains to play in. The rubber surface is nice, but due to the extreme volume of kids it is a bit worn in places. There is lots of seating for parents and caregivers, and a decent amount of shade around the periphery of the play areas. There are also public restrooms at the main entrance to the playground, and most of the entire area is fenced in. That said, being so large and with so many people, it's important to always have an eye on your kids here.

The main question you have to ask yourself about this place is: "who am I looking to entertain?" If it's adults, take a pass on this place unless you're really a fan of ice cream and whimsical displays. The entry price is astronomical (from $35-50+ depending on day and time), and really not worth it beyond an Instagram moment for most. But if you have young kids (and 2ish and under are free), and maybe it's a rainy day like it was for us, this may be a good way to spend a few hours indoors.
Most of the decor is pink, and you move from room to room experiencing different displays and trying different frozen treats. It builds rather slowly as the first few rooms are pretty unassuming, with minimal activities. But once you get past those, the number of interesting art and interactive displays increase (as do the crowds), and kids can really get into it. The highlight has to be the three-storey slide, followed by the indoor park areas with swings, monkey bars and games. Finally, you end up at an indoor pool of sprinkles. There is only one room with a brief history of ice cream, but otherwise there is nothing "museum" about this place. At least the ice cream is unlimited.
It's best to come early, but you need to buy your tickets online and reserve a time. The staff is friendly, which I give them a lot of credit for because the crowds can be a challenge.

Definitely a unique park unlike any other. There are two distinct sections: one with three climbing structures and a few sets of swings, and another "safety town" section with little buildings, roadway, caboose and two additional play structures. There appears to also be a small splash pad area, but like other parts of the playground, it seems in poor condition and disused. And that's the overall theme here: a lot of great play options, but many are in need of some TLC: broken swings, missing parts, fallen blocks on the retaining walls, stripped out electronics from the railway crossing lights, and the like. Yet there was a parks crew there doing mulching and planting, so they clearly try to keep it up. The safety town has a board with a long list of sponsors so there is investment here. There were a few administrative and faculty buildings on the premises next to the small parking lot, including washrooms, but they were locked. In general the entire park was well shaded and had lots of space for sitting. Given the number of kids there so early, it is clearly a neighborhood favorite, so I hope they continue to keep this place in good shape.

We came here for a dance recital on a weekend, so can't really speak to the majority of the facilities. But the auditorium was a lovely, well-maintained older theater with an expansive lower section and smaller upper gallery. It was quite warm and stuffy on a hot day, but certainly a nice venue. Most areas appeared to be accessible, but required some assistance in navigating the various hallways and doors.

We recently organized a birthday party at the Little Gym, and couldn't have been happier with the whole experience. They worked with us to make sure that the food and decorations we provided were set up, they really got into the theme we chose, and were genuinely excited to have fun with the kids on a "parents' night out" on a Saturday night.
The place was very clean (they vacuum and disinfect regularly), and the staff was very engaging with the kids, making sure to usher the parents out of the way and on with their evenings. The price was very reasonable considering they took every responsibility and worry away for the entire block of time.
All the kids had a blast, admittedly because we peered in from the street window to see everyone laughing and jumping around. It was also nice to see parents be able to drop their kids off and spend a few hours unwinding (a dozen of us went around the corner to Flagship, which was also great). We look forward to going back soon.