John Jay Park — Attraction in New York

I have lived near this park for seven years and I've noticed several things. 1. There POOL is amazing! If you are a swimmer, sign up for the FREE Early Bird and Night Owl swim program. At 7AM I swim my daily laps. The pool also opens at 7PM for the Night Owl swimmers. There is an end of year swim and awards party at another city pool once the pool nears its season closing. Other than the beautiful pool there are rubber mat areas for ground exercises and even some antiquated exercise machines. There is a large concrete lot with a basketball hoop or two fenced off in the center of the park. There is also a wall for playing handball or paddleball. 2. If you visit this park when the sun sets, be prepared to see MANY rodents. The full trash bags of this park are stored in the center concrete area of the park. The rodents of this park simply walk over from the perimeter of the park (near the dirt and their rat holes) to feast on this food. Last year the rats had it easier as the FULL trash bags were stored beside their nests. After a phone call or two and some letters, the Park Department moved that trash storage spot. Thank you to my Assemblywoman Seawright for making the call to make this change happen. The rats now simply walk over from their nests through the park to feast on the full trash bags which are now just piled in the center of the park. Although the city claims to have purchased those rodent repelling MINT X bags, they have yet to make their appearance at this park. I think they should FIRST JUST STORE THOSE FULL TRASH BAGS in a dumpster. I will follow up to ensure that these MINT X bags are indeed used in my backyard,...

Very cool and chill place. Went here when me and my bf were pretty high, had amazing conversations with a beautiful view of the driveway and Roosevelt island. We were observing the intimidating black gate with its sharp spikes. I remembered a story when one of my former classmates had his leg become a kebab on a similar spike when he was going over the same gate when escaping from school. We took a nice photo there to commemorate the evening and the stunning view. On our way out, we discovered that this exact gate at the entrance was locked, no other exit was available at 11pm. I believe the responsible person didn't check if anyone was still in there. FYI, the park closes at 10.00pm. If you stay later, you are at risk of getting kebabed. So, being sky high and scared, we decided to play Spiderman. My bf literally jumped over the gate when I got stuck on top. The trash bins came to my rescue, I jumped on one of them, and then I was beautifully taken down from it. Since that romantic moment, we broke up, and now he is my ex. Despite the fact that we were closed inside and had to figure it out, I give this park 5 stars because of its cozy vibe and the beautiful memories that warm me up...

In 1902 the city acquired through condemnation a parcel of land at the site of the park and opened a public bath house in 1906. A swimming pool and promenade was built nearby from 1940 to 1942, part of a Work Projects Administration construction program. In 1941 the bath house was renovated to include an auditorium, recreation room, gym, and changing facility which could accommodate 1,002 male and 590 female bathers. In 2010, a substantial upgrade was completed on the bath house, allowing visitors who are disabled to have full access to the facilities.

A large playground occupies almost half of the park's total acreage. The remaining half has basketball courts, handball courts, tennis and pickleball courts, and the pool and bath house. The park is used for physical education classes by Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Lycée Français de New York, P.S. 158, and M.S. 177. It used to house East Side Middle School students until the school moved...