SNOW IS HERE! As of 7:30 a.m., over 1.3 inches of snow fell in Central Park, which the Weather Channel called the "first measurable snow since the historic late October snowstorm." And because it's all about snow, the Parks Department is having a snow day at a park in each borough, complete with sledding, hot chocolate, snow angel and snowman contests! more ›

Three weeks after a Parks Department worker found a black doll hanging by a metal chain noose at the Parks Department's Bronx headquarters, a Parks employee has been arrested. Fariz Ahmemulic, 28, has been charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime. The doll was discovered in a garage last month by Anthony Crum, a 60-year-old black Parks worker who has also accused his supervisors of trying to cover up the crime before it became a police matter. more ›

New Yorkers don't just love parks for their serenity or greenspace, but for the excitement of possibly breaking an arcane law while enjoying them. Eating a donut in a public playground without a minor? Enjoying a widely-sold, heavily taxed carcinogenic product? You're breaking the law! Add a new statute to the mix: it's illegal for buskers to perform within 50 feet of a monument or landmark. Finally, unobstructed views of the World Famous Garibaldi statue. more ›

In keeping with the tabloids' "fresh" narrative concerning the battle in public parks between heartless cyclists vs. vulnerable pedestrians, the Daily News visited Prospect Park with a radar gun last weekend and "clocked bikers going as fast as 31 mph—even through a red light at a crosswalk." And like the NYPD, they have no respect for journalism: " 'Move from here! Move from here!' one cyclist clad in racing gear yelled at a reporter who was not even in a bike-only lane." more ›

If there's one thing everyone can agree on, it's that New York City needs more high-rises. But there's one thing stopping real-estate behemoth Related Companies from building 49 stories of delicious commercial and residential real estate: Ruppert Park playground. According to the Post, Related purchased the park in 1983 for $10 million, and in exchange for maintaining the park received tax breaks for its nearby properties. Related had to take care of the park until 2008 per the contract, but continued maintaining it until last month. Now it's padlocked, preventing any childish joy from poisoning a potential building site. more ›

A New Jersey teenager who seriously injured his leg after jumping down to the street from a fence around High Line is suing the city for $2.5 million, claiming that he was locked in the park and had no choice. "I crushed my knee, rupturing my ACL, and hurt my back. It really messed me up," 18-year-old Kirk Rasnick told the Daily News. Rasnick claims that the injuries he sustained on June 13 have prevented him from playing football during his senior year at Dickinson High School in Jersey City, and "you can't put a price on that." Except in this case: the price is $2.5 million, which works out to be around $700K per missed pep rally. more ›

In an agreement the city hopes will help plug the $11 million hole it left in the Brooklyn Bridge Park budget last month and finance the $16 million a year it will take to keep the park running, limited private housing will be built around the park near John Street and by Pier 6. The John Street high-rise will be 40,000 square feet smaller, and the Pier 6 buildings may also be shrunk or eliminated altogether. What's the catch? The Times reports that State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assemblywoman Joan Millman lose their veto power over the developments. more ›

We sure hope nobody in that teeming mass of humanity who went to Bryant Park to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was drinking booze last night. Though for a hot second it looked like drinking was going to be allowed for movies in the park turns out it was never actually made legit. And it won't be. more ›

With recent reports of rapes, shootings, and muggings in city parks, politicians and parks advocates are demanding that the city allocate millions of dollars for increased law enforcement in parks. At a rally at City Hall yesterday, more than a dozen advocates and unionized park enforcement officers called for $10 million in funding to boost park security, the Daily Politics reports. Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, said, "The vast majority of our parks are completely unprotected. The crime is exploding, and we’re asking the question: What is the city going to do about this?" more ›

Hey, people who leave their bags unattended in Central Park—the cops are looking out for you! According to the NYPD, Operation Lucky Bag has resulted in 34 arrests in Central Park since the beginning of March. "Lucky Bag" is an NYPD practice of leaving an unattended bag full of valuables in a public place, with the hopes that it will tempt criminals into stealing the items. Police wait to see if someone grabs the bag and attempts to take the cash or whatever else is stashed inside, and if they do, they arrest the person and charge them with petit larceny. more ›

Good news for fans of looking really, really cool in city parks (sorry, rollerbladers): it's almost impossible to get a ticket under the newly passed smoking ban. The Daily News sent smoking staffers to the High Line and Coney Island to see how lax the enforcement was, and lets just say that you're more likely to get a ticket for bike-riding-with-tote-bag than you are from getting your daily doses of formaldehyde. more ›

One of the great pleasures of New York in the summer, once you get past the smell of hot trash, are the outdoor movie screenings in Bryant Park. And while booze is not technically legal in the park, we (and countless others) have a few tried-and-true tricks to getting sloshed al fresco (waterbottles, anyone?). And anyway, it's never really seemed like that big a deal, at least according to Bloomberg. But this summer you might be allowed to let your drunk flag fly legally! more ›

Fans of usin', boozin', and just cold fornicatin' in outer borough parks will raise a brown bag to the news that the Parks Enforcement Patrol is woefully understaffed. According to the Daily News, "just eight PEP officers are in charge of more than 6,000 acres in the Bronx." New York City Park Advocates recently turned up at a city council hearing that investigated "disparities in the deployment of PEP officers across the boroughs," and a rep criticized the council for putting the public "in harms way by not allocating proper resources to all city parks." Sounds like someone should just move to Manhattan, hmm? more ›

Good dog owners in New York know to pick up their dog's number twos, but even the best dog owners aren't very careful about where their pups put their number one. And that has some local gardeners upset! So upset, in fact, that one new gardner in Washington Square Park has taken to the New York Times to vent. People, your dog's urine is killing our parks! more ›

The City Council is currently considering legislation that would finally eliminate automobiles from Prospect Park and Central Park (the transverse roads in that park would remain open to traffic). There have been numerous efforts over the years to return the parks to purely recreational purposes, and the amount of time motorists can use the parks has been whittled down to just a few hours on weekdays. The momentum seems to be growing for a full-on car ban, but here comes Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz to stomp on the brakes. more ›

City Council member Gail Brewer and other Council members are introducing legislation today that would dramatically change the way drivers and cyclists use the city's most beloved parks. One bill would change the traffic lights to flashing yellow during hours when motorists are prohibited from Central Park's main drive. And a second bill would entirely eliminate motorists from the main drive (the crosstown transverses would remain open). more ›

Prospect Park gets pretty rundown during the day, and the place needs its beauty sleep, so, like most other parks around town, the city closes it from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. This information is clearly posted on signs... inside the park, which an area man discovered only after getting a summons from four cops who watched him enter the park and—instead of warning him—issued him a summons. more ›

The Parks Department is trying to bring more gourmet food vendors to NYC parks, in order to offer an alternative to pretzels and dirty water dogs—but the Manhattan community board that includes the Upper East Side WON'T STAND FOR IT. Last week the board voted to reject a proposal that would install specialty food carts at two locations in Central Park: at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue, and 80th Street and Central Park West. The co-chair of the Parks Committee, Peggy Price, recently explained why; she doesn't hate the food, she hates the aesthetics. more ›