I liked this one better than Playground Papa! It’s cute, and the giant metal orb probably serves as a beacon for at least a few forms of extraterrestrial life, right?

Sandboxes do feel dicey in NYC, particularly in Union Square, but I don’t mind having the kids’ area wedged in among the rest of the park as long as there’s a tiny bit of breathing room. It feels a little overstuffed but what

When I think of the park space at Union Square, I’m more likely to think of Methadone Alley,  the annual Christmas Hell village, or dropping a hundred dollars on fresh tomatoes at the farmer’s market. But we figured there had to be a place for kids in all of this chaos, and we found it, tucked in right behind the park’s café, Torch & Crown Brewing. Literally. The wall of the building abuts the playground space, the joyous laughter of child-free people drinking and carousing worry-free on a Saturday afternoon could be heard throughout the playground.

We head over to the climbing equipment straight away. Right next to it was a sandbox, which is always a questionable choice since who knows what has happened to that sand since it was placed there sometime in the last century. The sandbox did have some beautiful marble pieces, a frog and a turtle and an amorphous shape that I assume is a bench.

I set Bruno loose hoping he would climb along the equipment but of course he went straight for the sand. Fine. A father pushing his one-year-old on the swings struck up a conversation and we chatted until he did what two-year-olds do and had a mini-meltdown resolved only with the promise of an Italian ice.  

We hadn’t even had a chance to walk the nature trail. I saw this as we entered the park and it was a bit of a curiosity. There is a path on the east end of the playground that loops around some rocks. It has guide marks and everything. It seemed like an unusual feature.

Since this was Union Square, there were plenty of families. It isn’t the most crowded Manhattan playground we’ve been to, but it was close.The best part of this site overall was the unique components. There was a big metal mound, thankfully shaded from the sun, for older children to climb on.Climbers would be well served here generally with ropes and other bits that challenge those looking to scale things. And, of course, there was a set of toddler swings.

We probably wouldn’t intentionally come back here. As much as I enjoyed the marble frog, the crowds were a lot and let’s be honest it’s not really in a place where we often have a baby with us.

‍