Cool It! NYC

If you’re looking to beat the heat this summer, our guide will help you find places to stay cool! With our new Cool It! NYC map, you can find places all across the city to hydrate, refresh, and stay in the shade.

How to Stay Cool

Cool It! NYC is a Citywide plan to increase the amount of cooling features available to the public during heat emergencies, particularly in neighborhoods that face the dangers of high heat.

Hot and humid summer weather can cause heat illness and even death. To measure neighborhoods that are the most at risk during extreme heat, NYC Health and Columbia University developed the New York City Heat Vulnerability Index, or HVI. We used this data to direct new cooling elements to the places that need them most, making sure that we can serve more residents in need during extreme heat events.

Visit NYC Health's Extreme Heat page to learn more about how you can stay safe and beat the heat.

Two children enjoy a spray of water from a spray shower

At NYC Parks, our plan focuses on three elements: spray showers, drinking fountains, and trees.

Spray Showers

During the summer, we turn on the sprinklers at hundreds of playgrounds across the city! In general, we turn on spray showers on days when the temperature reaches 80 degrees or higher. This year, we’re adding hundreds of new cooling locations, which means you’ll have even more ways to cool off. Our partners at NYCHA also maintain spray showers at public housing developments across the city. No matter where you are, bring the kids and have a splash!

Drinking Fountains

Each year, we turn on thousands of drinking fountains across the city, including more than 950 in areas of high need. Many of our drinking fountains are accessible, and some are designed for bottle refill--and we even have drinking fountains for your pet! Use our map to find the perfect drinking fountain in your area.

Tree Cover

To help you find New York’s most shaded areas, we’ve highlighted parks with particularly thick tree coverage, and we’re also featuring our city’s leafiest blocks. Use our map to change up your commute to find a cooler route!

COVID-19 Precautions

We ask that anyone using our city’s cool spaces keeps safety in mind. Water features do not present a higher risk of virus transmission, however, these areas may get crowded during the summer. We ask that everyone using these features maintains a safe social distance. Some of these features are currently closed. We will not open them until it is safe to do so.

Water Features

Misting Stations
Cool areas to relax on days when extreme heat emergencies are in effect.

Spray Shower
Sprinklers and other kid-friendly water features for hot weather fun.

Drinking Fountains
Places to get a sip of water or refill your water bottle.

Other Cooling Locations
Spray showers and hydrant spray caps managed by City agencies.

Shade Trees

Leafiest Blocks
Visit these tree-friendly streets to enjoy the most shade on your next walk.

Tree Canopy
For cool rest and relaxation, head to these areas in NYC Parks with the most tree cover.

High Heat Vulnerability Index Areas

Heat Vulnerability Index 4
Community Boards with the second-highest risk of heat injury or death.

Heat Vulnerability Index 5
Community Boards with the highest risk of heat injury or death.

List of NYC Parks Water Feature Locations

If you’re looking for more info on a specific feature presented in our Cool It! Map, you can download a spreadsheet with a full list of NYC Parks spray shower, misting station, and drinking fountain locations below.

Heat Emergencies

On extremely hot days, the National Weather Service may issue a heat emergency advisory. During these heat emergency days, the City offers additional resources for residents.

Want to know more? The New York City Department of Emergency Management's Beat the Heat website is your destination for everything you need to know about extreme heat in New York City.

Cooling Centers

During heat emergencies, the City will open cooling centers throughout the five boroughs. Visit the Cooling Center Finder or contact 311 (212-639-9675 for Video Relay Service, or TTY: 212-504-4115) to find out whether a cooling center is open near you.

Misting Stations

During heat emergencies, NYC Parks will turn on misting stations in parks and sitting areas across the city. These stations offer a gentle misting spray of water, and are places to relax and keep cool on extremely hot days.

Cool Hydrants

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection helps keep our city safe from fires and water waste by regulating fire hydrant spray caps that are used during heat emergencies. Hydrants can be opened legally with a City-approved spray cap.

Cool Streets

To help keep NYC cool and moving during the coronavirus pandemic, the City’s Department of Transportation has designated certain Open Streets as “Cool Streets.” These streets will be blocked off to vehicular traffic, and include areas with tree-based shade and hydrant spray caps.