McCarren Park / Vincent V. Abate Playground

A big, popular playground in the heart of hipster Williamsburg.

Overall Score

Five stars out of fiveFour stars out of fiveThree stars out of fiveTwo Stars out of fiveOne Star out of five

Rat-O-Meter

Rat-o-meter: five rats out of fiveRat-o-meter: four rats out of fiveRat-o-meter: three rats out of fiveRat-o-meter: two rats out of fiveRat-o-meter: one rat out of five
Official NYC Parks Website
Brooklyn
Lorimer and Driggs

Features

Neighborhood
Bathrooms
No
Yes
, But NEARBY
Shade:
No
Yes
Water feature:
No
Yes
Sandbox:
No
Yes
Drinking Fountain
No
Yes
Additional DETAILS BELOW

Reviews

Not Your Nanny's Review

Joyful and chaotic in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint nexus. McCarren can get crowded but for good reason - it’s large and well-situated and has probably the best water area of any park in north Brooklyn. It has two large structures with room for scooters and bikes in between, but each of the larger areas has smaller sections for even smaller kids. There are a lot of things to climb on, and multiple banks of swings. Lots of benches and trees for shade, too. And celebrity sightings! The only downside are the constant peddlers honking their horns to sell you water or ice cream.

Playground Papa's Review

I’m old enough to remember when the McCarren pool was dried out and used as a concert venue. Now we take our toddler to the playground here. 

This playground is a great place to bring kids because it’s large and has a variety of basic equipment. The toddler side has good platforms for climbing with stairs and even a very small single platform and slide that is great for learning. 

One piece of equipment in this section has a wasp nest, but otherwise it’s a great place to play. 

This piece of equipment is popular with wasps. They have been building a nest under the decking.

The side of the playground designed for older kids has the same pieces of equipment plus a few higher platforms and ladders. 

The stopped up water fountain creates a messy puddle on one side, but otherwise the actual water feature is separate and easy to avoid. It’s a huge space though and great for running around, although the sprayers are older and concrete. 

This is a great workhorse playground that can handle lots of kids. Not everyone is well supervised though, and the big size makes it hard to observe the whole playground at once.  

I once saw Kiernan Caulkin pushing his daughter on the toddler swings. We had both just come from the farmers market. It was a bit different than a few years earlier when he and his brothers were hanging at Union Pool.

Bruno's Review

About the Playground

Vincent V. Abate was a local activist and community board member and business owner who manufactured carbonated beverages.

Additional Features

Equipment

Slides:
Yes
No
Tic Tac Toe:
No
Yes
Toddler Swings:
No
Yes
Belt Swings:
No
Yes
CHIMES / Drums:
No
Yes
Tunnel:
No
Yes
PicNic Tables:
No
Yes
Suspension Bridge:
No
Yes

Climbing equipment

LaDDERS:
No
Yes
CLIMBING WALL:
No
Yes
ROPE:
No
Yes
STAIRS:
No
Yes
RAMP:
No
Yes
Monkey Bars:
No
Yes
Chain Ladder:
No
Yes
Weird Climbing Thing:
No
Yes

Accessibility

Sensory Panels:
No
Yes
Other Sensory Equipment:
No
Yes
Accessible Swing:
No
Yes
Balance Beam:
No
Yes
RAMP:
No
Yes
Last updated:
October 25, 2023

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