play:groundNYC

What is your favorite memory of playing as a child? Was it riding your bike in the back alley with your cousins? Or building a treehouse with your neighbor? 

These are the experiences of children who are given the trust, space, materials, and support to play. Research shows that play is crucial to a child's development. It allows children to navigate challenging situations, make decisions, and problem-solve. When children play together, they learn to collaborate, negotiate, and resolve conflicts. Play serves as a natural stress-reliever, allowing children to experience joy and have fun. When children play, they are often active; and physical play releases endorphins, improving their wellbeing. Play provides a space for children to express their feelings by acting out different scenarios and experimenting with various roles. But the opportunities for children to play in NYC are limited and inadequate. Children are too often asked to sit down, to focus on academics, to follow instructions in organized activities. Cars have limited our children's independence in the city. And most playgrounds look the same, and only support a certain kind of play. 

This is a problem we can fix. play:groundNYC is reimagining the urban environment as a place for all children to play, create, and explore. We do this by providing spaces for young people to play, providing professional development, school programming, and training a new generation of playworkers.

We steward The Yard, NYC's only adventure playground, on Governors Island. At The Yard, children can build, stack, experiment, laugh, destroy, decorate, smash, play music, paint, splash, dress up, ride bikes, dig, and so much more. They have access to hundreds of recycled materials, and to the thoughtful support of our dedicated playworkers. Their time is wonderfully up to them. And The Yard is open, FOR FREE, every weekend between April and November -- no questions asked. We've welcomed more than 30,000 children at The Yard since its opening in 2016 …and we are now looking for a second location!

At play:groundNYC, we believe that play shouldn't be limited to playgrounds. And that a city where children can play is a better city for all. So we are also taking our programs into public space across the five boroughs, and into schools, because every child needs and deserves to play. 

New York City is home to more than four million children. We need your support. Help us transform our city through play by making a donation or starting a fundraiser today. 

Thank you for joining us! We look forward to meeting you soon: www.play-ground.nyc  or adventure@play-ground.nyc