Columbus Park

Tons of activities going on here if you want to take a look at the cultural vibe of Chinatown.:while thr park seems decent sized for the area, there are not many places to seat due to the layout and playgrounds there.

This is a small park tucked between Chinatown and Little Italy. We stopped by to check out family movie night and 101 Dalmatians.
The facilities were ok. The layout was nice. In a relatively small plot they fit basketball, soccer and decent playgrounds. I wish they had more offerings for smaller kids. They had movie night on top of the community center, it was brutally hot on the patio. The adults really should refrain from attending if they plan to have conversations it’s hard enough to keep kids settled in the heat without their babbling.
The restrooms were really wet. I’m not sure if that was caused by the humidity, or if they had been sprayed down. The restrooms closer to the playground were pretty crappy and dark. But otherwise this place was ok.

This is the spot where Kenny Li’s basketball skills developed. If you don’t know Kenny Li, you should be ashamed of yourself. He is the elitist point guard that blossomed his roots in Columbus to the bigger stage of Baruch High. LET THIS BE KNOWN. KENNY LOVES THE MIDDLE COURT CONNECTED TO THE VOLLEYBALL COURT.

As I stroll through the park & watch the Old G’s Of ChinaTown at there best. You can feel the serenity in the air. From Card playing, Board Games, Gossiping, Live Instrument Playing, Chilling Out *To Everything Else In Between*.
This park is the definition of everything still sacred in the Asian Community. Every 1 doing what they do, laughing & truly enjoying each other company, it’s a sight that can warm anyone’s heart. Majority of patrons in the park is over 50, from the looks of thing. The phrase… Age Is Just A Number… * Definitely applies to this group of Old G’s *

The kiddie park was wayyy better when it had that big ass slide.
We (siblings) used to go to this park every time we went to Chinatown, when we were kids. We would run around, climb things, play with the monkey bars, swings and definitely go on the slide.
Nowadays, I would just go to the park (the part with all the older Chinese folks), sit around with my friend and just talk for hours.

Loved this park. There is much going on, but it’s very peaceful, too. Pick up coffee or a sandwich at Sharkeys across the street and enjoy the park on a Saturday morning. A beautiful community space.

I just moved to NYC after 2 years of living in China, so when people told me that this park would be «just like being in China!» I was a bit skeptical. However, they were right! The mahjong, the chess, the card-​playing, it was all right here. I barely heard any English.
If you had dropped me here blindfolded from a parachute, i would have told you I was in China. I only wish it were bigger!

A 100% real slice of Chinese culture in Manhattan’s Chinatown, and a good destination for your Dim Sum post-​prandial walk. There is always something going on here during the weekend. Martial arts practice, tai chi, old aunties gambling on cards, soccer, catch, Buddhist religious sermons, you name it. Just go with the flow, and sit here taking it all in for an hour or so!

This is the de-​facto meeting-​place in Chinatown; I often pass through here when I’m down there.
It’s well-​kept, and in the tradition of all New York City parks, has men’s and women’s restrooms open during daylight hours.

Great park in Chinatown NYC. There are alot of things to do here and it is great for some people watching. The basketball games are going all day and range from all skill levels. The one problem is that it seems like it’s not super clean. There is def a fly problem so some benches are just gross. It’s def worth it to check out on a nice day though.

The first time I noticed the park there were a bunch of people upstairs in an open air building doing katas. I thought that was pretty cool so after dinner I went over to have a look. The area around the building almost looked like a temple, which was also cool, but the guys upstairs already stopped doing forms.
That wasn’t a problem because I just wanted to relax anyway before leaving the area. There are plenty of benches covered by the shade of trees, and there are some mid sized fields where a bunch of people were playing soccer preparing for their run at the World Cup.
Everyone was real friendly too and didn’t mind if you wanted to play a bit being the goalie or taking a few shots. You may not want to sit too close to the goal though since mistakes can happen.

This is a cute little park in Chinatown. I had come here to rest my legs after a day of exploring Chinatown. When i came, there was a musical group performing and though I did not understand a word of what the woman was singing, I enjoyed every bit of it.(Ya I am pretty easy to please;)) I just sat down and tried to take in the seemingly million things happening in this small space. the men gambling with cards, the women exchanging gossip, the tourists trying to take pics, the old Chinese men reading Chinese newspapers, the pigeons strutting around as if they own the park. its all there! Definitely a must-​visit place to get a good dose of diverse culture.

Love this park, it is busy with kids, grand parents all over the place. Basketball courts but miss the softball field which is now a soccer field. You also have Chinese fortune tellers and other street vendors.

there are rats that run around the park!!!
but it’s a decent park to sit and watch the people play music/​games…

I love this park!!! Columbus park, by the outskirts of NYC’s Chinatown has a lot of diversity. You get all walks of life here.
On one end of the park, you have your local elders playing (and singing) old Chinese folk songs. On the opposite end of the park, you have your basketball courts and a little monkey bar area. Right in the middle is the astro-​turf soccer field.
My interest is the basketball court and monkey bars!
The basketball courts here aren’t as crowded as the one in the park by the Grand Street D train station. And I find people aren’t as serious here. It’s a great place to shoot around.
But the main reason I come to this park is for the monkey bars. My buddies and I have «ghetto workouts» here. We use the monkey bars for pullups. Because the monkey bars are mostly unoccupied, we can run through our routine of body weight workouts without having to be interrupted. Sometimes we get some locals joining in our workouts. Although, they don’t speak much English, they try to mimic our workout and we welcome them with open arms!!!

If you’ve ever wanted to spend time with little old Chinese people, or wondered what they like to do — well, alot seem to hang out here. I see them sitting on the park benches, playing traditional instruments, Chinese chess, or gambling with cards.
Good for them for getting such utility out of a public space. I bet no other park is used as much.

I love this park. It is my go to place when I’m at Chinatown over the weekend. Especially after a nice brunch/​lunch. There are so many trees, so a lot of shade. You get serenaded to in Chinese Opera and erhu. There are people practicing Tai Chi, playing cards, playing Chinese Chess. It’s a taste of the East (genuinely). I love it. It really reminds me of my grandparent’s place in China, no joke.
So there’s this rock. It’s huge and flat and under a tree. There are no flies. It’s my favorite rock.
Also, they have public bathrooms, labeled as «comfort rooms.» Debatable, but seemingly on par with Starbucks bathrooms.

1. I’ve never been on AstroTurf before so I thought the little black rubbery things were bugs and freaked out for a good 5 minutes.
2. I heard the ice cream truck for 30 minutes and not once did it drive down Mulberry St.
3. The actual park area is the pits now. There are zero swings for adults. ZERO. They have one weird swing that is shaped like a recliner but who the hell can even swing on it?
4. One time I got stung by a bee here and cried for an hour when I was 8 years old.
5. Break dancers and young Bruce Lee’s come to practice in the covered patio section. Also, watch some intense chess, Go and pai gao games here.

Oh my God,
Please go here if you are a tourist visiting New York. It’s a beautiful little respite from the hustle and bustle of NYC. Relaxing. If you are non-​Asian (which I am) you will see that you are in a serious minority. If you are under the age of say, 70 (which I also am) you again will feel in the minority. The crowd seemed to be mainly elderly Asian people playing cards and maybe Maj Jong. Also a group of Asian musicians playing some lovely traditional music on instruments I am too ignorant to recognize.
This is a taste of «real» which the average Times Square tourist will never bite. Sadly.

The earliest years of my life were spent in New York’s Manhattan Chinatown which my paternal grandmother and paternal grandfather took me to Columbus Park as an baby to play or achieve peace of mind. Living in Chinatown grants easy access to all the Yum Cha restaurants and empower strong Chinese culture instilled, which is a personal pride to me.
Aside from Central Park, Columbus Park has always been a childhood favorite partly embedded for fond memories with my beloved grandparents. Columbus Park has an excellent yet extensive children playground. In addition to children actively playing on the grounds, there are active adult activities and performance events as: Chinese Chess, Chinese Checkers, and the elderly exercise Tai Chi along with Chinese Opera on summer weekends are performed which unifies the New York Chinese community. Unfortunately, opposite this park in plain sight visible are two large funeral service homes which is a bad omen eye sore in Chinese culture.