Hermon A. MacNeil Park — Attraction in New York

I'm surprised I didn't know about this park earlier...having lived in Queens and the Bronx most of my life. I've always visited Francis Lewis Park and Fort Totten park which both offer amazing and close view of the Whitestone and Throggs Neck bridges respectively. Let me start by it is a mission getting to this park. It seems like the park is surrounded by tons of side streets which all are paved awfully. I felt for my poor car's shicks during the entire ride. You best bet is to take College Point Blvd. north to 5th Avenue and then take a right...that will give you the best ride. You can then park along Poppenhusen Avenue which can be hit or miss...I was able to snag the last spot on a weekday early afternoon around 2 pm. I would imagine parking would be much worse on the weekends. Once you get there and park though...the park itself is lovely. The paved pathway around the border of the park offers lovely views of LGA airport and the East River. There are lots of benches along the pathway which makes it a great spot for lunch. Feel free to gab something fro the eateries neaby and come here to eat. There are a bunch of big open fields where you can kick/toss around a ball or put down a blanket for a picnic. There are also basktball court (2 hoops), a playground and restrooms. Overall we had a great time here. And although parking was tough, the park itself didn't seem crowded at all. Lots of space. And like many NYC...

Unsafe Barbecues Everywhere – Needs Immediate Attention

I’ve lived near this park for over 5 years, and I have to say it’s one of the most beautiful places in the area — amazing views of the city, LaGuardia Airport, and even parts of the Bronx. I love walking my dog here daily.

However, lately it’s become a serious safety hazard. The area is now constantly crowded with people doing large barbecues in places where barbecuing is not allowed. I’m not talking about one or two small grills — I mean about 10 different parties every single day, some with huge open flames.

With the recent wildfires we’ve seen between Canada and the U.S., this is terrifying. Tonight at 9 PM, in total darkness, I saw a group of 10–15 people barbecuing with flames shooting several feet into the air. People (including kids) were sitting only a few feet from the fire. Houses, cars, and dry grass are all nearby.

This is a disaster waiting to happen. The park is beautiful and deserves to be enjoyed safely, but if no action is taken, I’m afraid we’re going to see a serious accident here. I truly hope the city steps in before something...

I have been going to this park since I was a young girl. Now I’m an adult with my own dog and I STILL go here. The view of this park is beautiful. You can see the entire NYC skyline. Along with a beautiful park, the people that come here are great. Everyone looks after the park and does their best to clean up and not leave trash around. There are tons of family picnics and parties on the weekend and they always clean up. This park is also great for your dog! It isn’t a dog park, but there a lot of great dogs here with responsible loving owners. I’ve had some very scary encounters with other dogs at other parks, but the owners in the area do their best to make it safe and fun. The playground area for the kids is also very nice and great for kids. As a child I LOVED playing here and always had fun playing with the neighborhood kids. Absolutely great park that’s made even better with...