# Does NYC have parks that close with no gates? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 14, 2012, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452 "2012-08-14T09:25:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/21 "2012-08-15T14:33:21Z")
There are loads of places in Prospect Park where there’s no fence on the perimeter. Especially on the western side. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/22 "2012-08-15T15:05:42Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > To hijack this a bit, there is a train running through my town. There is a car bridge and two footbridges, each about a half mile from the car bridge. One of the two footbridges is locked every night between 10PM and 6AM, for no discernible reason. The gates and locks were added only about five years ago. WAG: safety? Funneling the foot traffic to one bridge at night would result in more people passing – and thus less opportunity for muggers and the like to catch someone completely alone long enough to commit their crime – than dividing the lighter night-time traffic between the two bridges. Also only one bridge for the cops to check up on. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/23 "2012-08-15T15:13:29Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > There are loads of places in Prospect Park where there’s no fence on the perimeter. Especially on the western side. That was a photo of the western side (it was Prospect Park West at the Third Street entrance) and on the West side of Prospect Park I assure you there’s a continuous wall from Grand Army Plaza to Bartel-Pritchard square. The southwestern indent nearest to Greenwood cemetary has a continuous wrought-iron fence. Parkside Ave is fenced everywhere I can see on google maps., Ocean Ave on the eastern boundary has a fence, all of Flatbush Ave is fenced. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/24 "2012-08-15T15:40:13Z")
I must be remembering wrong, then. I guess the fences used to be in worse shape than they are now. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/25 "2012-08-15T15:49:20Z")
> [@grude](#): > > What I was wondering about NYC was that obviously the parks are in a dense metro area with no fences or gates so I was wondering if you could cut across without realizing it. Some parks aren’t completely fenced ( such as [Juniper Valley Park](http://goo.gl/maps/tQZpP) in Queens ).You could walk through the entrances , or climb over the wall, or walk through the grass ( depending on the park) and perhaps not realize that you are in a public park - but you’ll certainly realize that you are not on the sidewalk, and in NYC, when you see trees and greenery it’s either 1 A park 2 A community garden run by the Parks Department 3 Plantings on a traffic island/on the side of the road 4 Private property NYC isn’t like some rural places I’ve heard of , where there is apparently public land/woods that aren’t actually parks and which don’t have specific rules,opening and closing hours , etc. And now that I mention Juniper Valley, there’s another reason the parks close. Many of the parks are in residential areas, and people live right across the street. Juniper may be open until 1 am, but the parking lots were closed years ago and some of the street bordering the park prohibit standing between 9 am and 6 am because of complaints about noise from nearby residents. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/26 "2012-08-15T16:31:22Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I suppose it depends on the park. My house is near Prospect Park, which doesn’t close at night, and people jog, bike and rollerblade at all hours. But Prospect Park is huge, close to 600 acres. Most parks in NYC are relatively tiny: small playgrounds, basketball courts, public pools, little grassy spots. Most such areas tend to have fences around them and will be locked at night since the Parks Dept and NYPD can’t deal with them 24 hours a day. > > Riverside Park is also quite large (266.791 acres according to Wikipedia) which makes it unusual in having an enforced closing time. In my experience, they generally have a couple cops near the main entrances who will annoy you with a flashlight and say, “sorry, park’s closed,” and that’s that. If you want **actual** large parks, come to Colorado Springs. As other posters have stated, our parks have posted hours as well. We have four parks within city limits that are bigger than your “huge” 600 acres, and they are all closed at night. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/27 "2012-08-15T16:43:32Z")
Whoops > [@](#): > > Juniper may be open until 1 am, but the parking lots were closed years ago and some of the street bordering the park prohibit standing between 9 am and 6 am because of complaints about noise from nearby residents. should of course read **9 pm** to 6 am ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/28 "2012-08-15T17:24:40Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > If you want **actual** large parks, come to Colorado Springs. As other posters have stated, our parks have posted hours as well. We have four parks within city limits that are bigger than your “huge” 600 acres, and they are all closed at night. You are aware that we are talking about New York City, right? A refrigerator box is bigger than a two-bedroom apartment here. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/29 "2012-08-15T17:58:30Z")
Parks often attract criminal elements. Our neighborhood association petitioned the city to put gates across the road going into the park. Neighborhood volunteers open them every morning and close at night. Before that we had a lot of drug trafficking and prostitutes working down there. Neighborhood homes burglarized. The homes with backyards facing the park got hit really hard. The park was filthy. Beer cans, whiskey bottles, fast food wrappers. We organized volunteer clean up Saturdays trying to keep the pavilion and park nice for families. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/30 "2012-08-16T03:43:51Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Some parks aren’t completely fenced ( such as [Juniper Valley Park](http://goo.gl/maps/tQZpP) in Queens ).You could walk through the entrances , or climb over the wall, or walk through the grass ( depending on the park) and perhaps not realize that you are in a public park I don’t see it, for the reasons you mentioned (and I snipped). Especially if you’re climbing over the wall. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452/31 "2012-08-16T13:17:41Z")
> [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](#): > > I don’t see it, for the reasons you mentioned (and I snipped). Especially if you’re climbing over the wall. I suppose you could believe that you are on private property rather than in a park - but my point was even if you didn’t know it was a park, you _would_ know it was someplace you weren’t supposed to be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-nyc-have-parks-that-close-with-no-gates/631452.md?page=1)