McCarren Park

McCarren Park is a 35.57-acre park straddling the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint in northern Brooklyn. Named for Patrick McCarren, a Brooklyn political boss and New York State Senator who represented the area in the late 19th century, the park is the primary recreation space for two of Brooklyn's most dynamic neighborhoods.

The park's most celebrated feature is the McCarren Park Pool, originally built in 1936 as one of Robert Moses' eleven massive WPA-era pools. With a capacity of 6,800 swimmers, the pool was second in size only to the Astoria Park pool, though its soaring bathhouse was the largest in the system, and it became a legendary summer destination. It closed in 1984 as the structure deteriorated and stood abandoned for 28 years before a $50 million renovation restored it as a swimming facility in 2012.

During its years of disuse, the empty pool was repurposed as a concert venue, hosting performances by acts ranging from indie rock bands to the Metropolitan Opera. The pool's acoustics and dramatic setting made it one of the most memorable outdoor venues in New York, and its reopening as a pool was met with both celebration and nostalgia for the concert era.

McCarren Park includes athletic fields for soccer, baseball, and football, tennis and basketball courts, a running track, a dog run, and a large playground. The park's athletic facilities support an extensive system of youth and adult leagues that serve the diverse populations of both Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

The park sits at the intersection of Williamsburg's hipster culture and Greenpoint's historically Polish-American community, creating one of the most culturally varied park populations in Brooklyn. On any given weekend, pickup soccer games between teams from different ethnic communities play alongside yoga classes, dog walkers, and families from every background.

McCarren Park is the social commons for two neighborhoods whose identities are intertwined but distinct, providing the shared green space where Williamsburg's creative energy and Greenpoint's working-class roots meet on common ground.