McCarren Park

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McCarren Park underwent a sudden renaissance in the summer of 2006 when a group of promoters turned the park’s massive, empty pool (a WPA relic that had fallen into graffiti-covered disrepair) into an open-air venue with free Sunday afternoon concerts. Crowds packed the massive red brick complex to see bands like Deerhoof and the Walkmen or hear D.J.'s spin between sets. In 2012, the pool reopened five years after Mayor Bloomberg announced plans for some major renovations, so the park’s revival will likely continue—even though the music’s stopped. McCarren is also home to the Brooklyn Kickball league, a collection of ragtag hipster teams with names like the MakeOuts and the Hitemups, who play Sunday and Wednesday nights from April through October. While local twentysomethings enjoy these childhood flashbacks, the real kids in the neighborhood romp around the Ericsson Playground, a running track, seven tennis courts, a soccer/football field, and sixteen handball courts. The park’s patchwork layout (the city acquired the land in four different plots, all separated by railroad lines) may not compete with the urban oases of Prospect or Central Park, but at 35 acres, it has more than enough room for both rocking and running your heart out. — Kaitlin Jessing-Butz

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