John Jay Park

A charming park in the Upper East Side + a FREE pool!
Amenities:
1. FREE & CLEAN POOL! I’ve been here multiple times and it’s always been very clean
2. Cute playground for kids — it has a bunch of really cool stuff like a sandbox + sprinklers
3. Tennis backboards
4. Basketball courts
5. Exercise equipment — pull up bars and some leg press machines
Note:
1. A lot of people have said this park has a tennis court but not really — they do have a court in the middle of the basketball courts but the net isn’t up. I saw some people playing and they had it up one time — I haven’t seen it up since so maybe you have to bring your own net? Not sure.
Tip:
1. You can’t use the pool unless you have a lock to put all your stuff so bring one! If you live nearby just leave everything at home and just wear your towel!

Definitely do not go there if you don’t like children. There is a relaxing area of the park, but there are so many kids screaming and running rampant.

This park is great. My child loves to go there.

John Jay Park is really a playground with the heart (and the name) of a park; there’s no green underfoot but greenery does border the space. In addition to the two outdoor public pools, pool house with restrooms, and children’s play area with swings, there are also elliptical type exercise machines for adults, pull-​up bars, paddleball/​basketball courts, picnic tables and benches overlooking the East River/​Roosevelt Island, and a pedestrian bridge to cross over FDR Drive to the East River Pathway. This park and its surrounding streets are relatively quiet (except when the nearby schools let out) and definitely Max-​approved.

Lovely Park with FREE and CLEAN Public Swimming Pools
and lots of open spaces for children and of course a playground
Basketball and Tennis Courts Available
Now, I’m jealous for those that live around this park… and oh yeah
you also have the cross-​over pedestrian bridge over to the East
River Espalande right on 77^th Street so basically, if you live around
this park, you don’t need a backyard or a garden.

John Jay Park is a quiet, green space close to York avenue, between 78^th st and 76^th st, in the middle of Yorkville.
It features:
–two swimming pools, oper during summer season;
–beautiful playground with games for children;
–basketball court;
–many benches all around and within the park;
–great views of East river, Roosevelt Island and Queens;
–the breeze coming from the river during hot summer days;
–well manteined public restrooms.
Awesome spot for relax and enjoy the green shadows of trees.
At the entrance of the park, on 78^th, Cherokee pl and 77^th street there’s the beautiful Cherokee apartments, with light green iron balconies. Formerly named «Shively sanitary apts», they were built in 1910 for poor New Yorkers suffering from tubercolosys; at the time, the only treatment for TB was fresh air and sunlight. So the tenements were built close to the East River, where residents could catch cool air. Then sold and turned into co ops because too expensive.
The park and the whole three blocks surrounding it are a gem in the hood.

Looks like a lovely park, with a lot of playground equipment. The pools seem pretty well attended in the summer. Agreed with other people that if you’re looking for more park than playground, keep going along the river till you hit Carl Schurz @ 86^th Street. But John Jay is a nice alternative.
Don’t miss the Cherokee Apartments on Cherokee Place — love the architecture.

Giant playground.
Two outdoor swimming pools.
Multiple tennis courts.
River-​view benches.
Live across street.
Don’t have kids.
Have dogs.
Dogs only allowed after 9 pm.
Diseased rats come out at 9 pm.
That’s about it.

This park is great since they re-​did it. It has an amazing sandbox that looks relatively clean. The sprinklers are great — placed all over the park. The also have a closed in area where children can run free — more or less. They also have a fair number of swings. The crawl on camels just outside the park are also a nice touch.
The pool is also very nice, but the lines can get long before the afternoon session. It is very clean and well maintained.
The only negative is the lack of a regular bathroom. They have only porto-​poties and they are disgusting — like a poop bomb just exploded inside of it.

Not
Much park
Outside pool
And a playground
So you’re better off visiting Carl.

We like this park a lot, although I agree with Jack that it’s more of a playground. It also has a swimming pool! There are several areas of play for kids, including a big sandbox. The ground is covered in the typical playground rubber as opposed to cement. There is also some courts as well. Very well shaded area and during the day they have two water hydrants that cool the kids off.
One thing to note: The kids at the Ronald McDonald House call this park Ratatouille Park because at dusk, the rats come out in droves. We have been there at dusk twice and haven’t seen the rats, but if you have Musophobia, you might want to stick to the daytime hours. :-)

not so much of a park as a play ground. but it is nice to have a closure like this on the upper east side