The East River waterfront in Long Island City is a popular destination, especially on pleasant weekend afternoons. The playgrounds here are no exception and get very crowded with local residents and visitors. 

One of the first problems with this playground is the over emphasis on climbing equipment. A decade or so ago, some consultant must have decided that climbing equipment was the preferred way of entertaining children, and many playgrounds of a certain vintage have a huge emphasis on climbing. Unfortunately, that's not really what the kids want. While a lot of the equipment and the slides were crowded here, the climbing walls and other odd pieces were far less used, and that's a problem at a popular playground like this one. 

The toddler equipment is fine. Lots of slides, but it’s not up to the volume of kids playing, and for older kids, they were left with weird rope climbing elements and was largely not being used. And since it was also overwhelmingly crowded, the useful equipment was getting twice the use. 

The state hasn't done a good job of maintaining the playground either. The rubber mats had holes and patches, and some of the equipment was broken.

We were there on a cloudy day, but it’s clear this park gets a lot of direct sun. The trees around the edge of the playground aren’t big enough to offer shade. 

On the plus side, this playground overlooks the UN and the East River. 

The park has a great view but it’s not particularly stimulating. There were plenty of other kids to play with, but also a lot of adults standing around.

This playground is a bit disappointing to be honest. It’s potentially a great location but the choices made on equipment seem incorrect and there simply isn’t enough playground to go around.  

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Part of the Gantry Plaza State Park and the walkway along the East River in Long Island City Queens, the playground is listed as the Rainbow Playground -- not to be confused with a NYC Parks playground by the same name in Brooklyn or two others in Queens.