Access for All
The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation strives to help ALL New Yorkers discover how New York City’s about 29,000 acres of parks can enrich their lives, promoting physical and emotional well-being, and providing venues for fitness and peaceful respite for the widest possible audience. The Parks Department’s goal is to go beyond mere compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide access, as well as increased opportunities for recreation and participation, by improving Parks processes and through strategic partnerships. Parks is currently hard at work on an agency-wide transition plan to make all aspects of the Parks Department more accessible and has put together an ADA Committee to offer guidance on accessibility issues throughout in City parks.
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the accessibility of our website or any other Parks and Recreation property, please contact us, as we are continually striving to improve the experience for all visitors. You may also submit a complaint regarding our ADA compliance.
Our commitment to accessibility for all is ongoing, so please check back often as we update these pages and work to provide more comprehensive information and timely updates.
Learn More about the history of accessibility in parks.
Exercise Your Ability
New York City’s ultimate guide to adaptive sports and recreation for people with disabilities
Latest Updates
This program gives student athletes with physical disabilities the chance to earn a trip to the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games Vancouver, Canada. To enter, applicants must submit a video or essay in which they answer the question, “How has sport positively impacted your life as a person with a physical disability?”
Learn More at usparalympics.org
The 2nd Annual Handcycling Race for disabled children, men, women, and veterans will kick off at the famous Unisphere at Flushing Meadow Corona Park in Flushing, NY on Saturday, November 7, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Over 50 of the tri-state area’s best Adaptive Sports Athletes of all ages will compete for over $1,000 in prize money.
Wheelchair tennis will be starting up again at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Indoor Facility in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, NY on Sunday October 18, 2009. We look forward to seeing everyone this year and we all need to prepare for the 10th Annual Jana Hunsaker Memorial Wheelchair Tennis Tournament in June 2010.
The tournament will feature 12 of the best men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams from around the country and is free to the public, and will go from Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11.
Learn More
Paralympic Sport New York City
This three-week Paralympic track & field program begins October 17, 2009.
Learn More
President Obama Announces New White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport
This permanent White House office will promote the values of the Olympic Movement and encourage increased youth participation in athletics. The primary function of the Office will be to enhance awareness of the Olympic Movement through promotion of its fundamental principles at the federal level.
Read the White House Press Release
Read the U.S. Olympic Committee Reaction to President Obama’s Announcement
The High Line Opens
The new park is accessible by elevator at 16th Street. In July there will be another elevator operating at 14th Street, and future elevator sites
include 23rd Street, 30th Street and, in 2012, Gansevoort Street. Other accessible amenities on the line include benches with armrests,
Learn More
Send Us Your Picture
If you or someone you know has a disability and is enjoying our Parks, Playgrounds, or Rec Centers, send us a picture with a description of what you are doing and where you are, and we will highlight you on our site!