Imagination Playground

We love this place

Very nice playground in Lower Manhattan. Great for kids. Sand, water and things to climb. Whats not to like. Its also enclosed, and has restrooms etc.
Easy park for those with toddlers and associated strollers etc.
Its surprising to see this amid all the office buildings here, but in true NYC fashion, there are some residential buildings here too.

A great park for all ages. There is a sand box with a sprinkler, a water area with cabanas, and a wooden deck filled with over-​sized blocks and noodles to build with.

Great park, beautiful fun for kids that like sand, blogs and water. Park with great sensorial input!

It’s a great park with sand, water, building blocks and some climbing with a slide too.
It still in part recovering from hurricane sandy as the water area is not functioning though they have attempted to remedy this with a sprinkler.
I have been here many many times since we moved to NYC 2 years ago and find the staff bothersome. But today was very odd. One of the male members of staff got very aggravated over my children putting sand on the slide. They weren’t blocking other kids or throwing sand around. The «ranger» said don’t put sand on the slide. So my kids started to try to take it off. He said «I’ve worked here every day for 4 years and I’ve never seen anything like this before». I challenged and advised him lots of kids were doing this yesterday when we were there… he abruptly said «no they weren’t» and would not make eye contact. What a strange person to employ at a park! Also he continually swept up, moving kids out of the way, and some toddlers were told they weren’t allowed to fill their bucket with water from the sprinklers. These «rules» aren’t shown anywhere. and it would be odd if they were!
I urge you to watch your kids closely to avoid any confrontation with staff who are intent on spoiling fun.

This park is great for kids who think playing with sand and knocking down blocks more fun than swings, slides, and jungle gyms. The park is gated and attended by park personnel; there are bathrooms and ample stroller parking for parents.
There are three zones kids can play in: the water area, a section with these giantic foam blocks that kids of all ages absolutely LOVE, and the massive sandpit. This is definitely a park where mom and dad will want to play with the kids.
Downsides: The play areas are exposed and the only shade is under a little walkway and the slides; good for kids, not so good for the parents. Sunblock is definitely recommended. Also, this park is quite the trek for those with strollers. The nearest stop on Fulton isn’t accessible and, if you’re determined to use that massive tank stroller and require an elevator to get to street level you must hoof it from either the CIty Hall, Bowling Green, or South Ferry stations.

A slight challenge to get to especially if you have kids that don’t like to walk (or are stroller babies). Once you are there it is worth the trek. Bring plenty of water and snacks because nothing close by within eyesight of the park. Not a problem if one adult can stay and watch the kids while the other goes for supplies.
Get here early as it fills up later in the morning.
TIP FOR PARENTS: ask for a yellow cushion for siting — they go fast!

Great playground! My kids love the sand and water… they could stay here for hours. Just wish they has some benches and some shade. I know they have the umbrellas but it still get really hot.

This playground has so much character, it’s awesome!
— it’s right by South Street Seaport! Besides the view of the water and all the ships, you would never know that you were right by a huge tourist spot!
— You can take the East River Ferry to Wall St, and Imagination Playground is just a couple blocks away
— It is gated, so you can feel safe with your kids running around
— Lots of sand! and water!
— Hammock/​rope ladder
— Slide
— They have some makeshift swings made of lots of fabric tied together… not sure if they were there originally or if someone put them there. Either way they seem safe
My only complaint is the interesting contraption in the playground where you can put stuff in a bag and transport it via this roped device. It is kind of cool but it’s so easy to mistaken it as a swing and there are no signs stating that you cannot swing on them, so many kids were getting in trouble!

This park is cool, however the kids here were reminiscent of those assholes who buy tables at clubs and then guard them with their lives.
Screw you, little kids! These kids here were such jerks in training.
My boo and I were coming out of the South Street Seaport and I noticed this playground. I figured it’d be cool to check out.
Every time I tried to grab with a random blue block, a kid ran up to me and said, hey, why are you touching my block?
So I asked if they were using the other block.
«Yup, that’s mine».
I repeated this process over and over again until I found some blocks that wasn’t guarded. I really felt as if I was being bullied by these punks. Their parents were watching them and didn’t even urge them to share.
I’m not sure if every kid had to check out the blocks, but wow, these kids had some serious attitude. Those blocks seem like a total waste of taxpayer dollars. Back when I was a kid, we had to use sticks and rocks and make due with our imaginations. Heck our old playgrounds were covered with sharp edges and concrete, not rubberized flooring.
Places like these are the cause of the wussification of America!

Great place to let kids have fun, in the water, sandbox, or on the rope climber. Met up with some friends and this place was one of the best play ground in the city as far as «creativity» concnered.
This is a city park so there are a few «Park Rangers» working really hard to keep this place fun for kids (really)
As for parents and friends, this is a control environment. With that said, shaded area is limited under several umbrellas.
…oh and for the sake of kids, leave your iPad or crackbery at home. Yes we can hear you loud and clear, I’m glad you are such big shot wall street guy making a deal on weekend, but this is a play ground. If you aint gonna take care of own kids, leave them with your sitters! (thank you!)

Great space for children to manipulate and manifest all their creative machinations. This is an innovative approach to a playground where there are no stationary play stations. The children create and dismantle their play areas using ginormous foam cubes, and other shapes. This leads to a great sense of cooperative autonomy unlike any other park I have visited.
There are also full time staffers monitoring this playground to facilitate appropriate usage of the equipment. It is good to have people maintaining the space for other future visitors. This place can get a little crowded and there are not too many places in to sit in the shade that’s my only problem with this venue.

Back in the old days everyone wanted to grow up when they were little; life was boring. The playgrounds were one flat slab of asphalt with maybe a handball wall, basketball hoop or if you are luck monkey bars and a hot metal slide that violated every OSHA rule you can think of for playground safety.
The other day I walked by the new Imagination Playground and I wanted to be young again!
The NYC Parks department took over this once boring parking lot bordered by John St. and Burling Slip between Front St and South St.
The have successfully created a fantastic state-​of-​art playground for kids. There are water works, sand pits, large form blocks, ramps, bridges and even a tower to climb. They even added a modern restroom.
The playground design is revolutionary. I wish my kids are small again so I can visit with them.
Hint: do not walk in like me with a camera and start walking around taking pictures; you get a lot of strange stares from the mother bears protecting their cubs.
So if you don’t have children, go borrow, rent, find a child so you can enjoy this wonderful playground with them.
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