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Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This park is a little rough and ready, but there are nice views from the Promenade, and if you are in the neighborhood on July 4, this is where you want to go to see the fireworks if you can't get invited to someone's roof and are too late to get onto the elevated FDR Drive. Just make sure your view isn't blocked by a tree.
East River Park, also called John V. Lindsay East River Park, is a 57.5-acre (20 ha) public park located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. What remains of it is still administered by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Bisected by the Williamsburg Bridge, it stretched along the East River from Montgomery Street up to 12th Street on the east side of the FDR Drive. Its now-demolished amphitheater, built in 1941 just south of Grand Street, had been reconstructed and was often used for public performances. The park included football, baseball, and soccer fields and a running track: Now only the tennis, basketball, and handball courts and some bike paths, including some parts of the East River Greenway remain. Its East River shoreline still makes fishing a popular recreational activity at all hours of the day.
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The LESJC runs private and public tours of the Jewish Lower East Side. The tours are unique as they take visitors into synagogues rather than just the outside. Buy tickets ahead of time as they sell out fast.
Museum inside the only Romaniote (Greek-speaking) synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, telling the story of Greek Jews. Designated a NYC Landmark in 2004.
Shared with Chinatown. The part of the park between Delancey and Houston Sts. has a soccer field and some basketball courts, so in addition to some relaxing greenery, you may see people playing sports or do so yourself in good weather. Watch out for the rats after dark, though they are unlikely to be of any danger to you, while they get their wind sprints in and look for food.
Building designed by award winning Japanese office SANAA. Contemporary art - the 'I don't get it' kind. Temporary exhibitions, also a good bookshop and Sky Room with views (weekends only).