Bella Abzug Park

Most of Manhattan’s pocket parks are small interruptions in the grid, but Bella Abzug Park stands a few steps taller. The sixth-floor terrace at 525 W 36th St. fl 6 is the city’s most literal sky-bound park—open air, open views, and open hours for whoever wanders upstairs. In a neighborhood of printing plants and loading docks, this elevated slice of green feels like a deliberate break from the sidewalk pace.

Children are the clearest beneficiaries; swings and shaded corners make it a rare place where kids can scale three floors above the street. Picnickers scatter across benches framed by low railings, and dog walkers pause where the wind carries less diesel. There’s no sign-in desk, no gate, just an unlocked door on the sixth floor and sunlight that hits most hours of the day. The space doesn’t chase curb appeal—it lets the city’s vertical skyline do the talking.

If the park doubles as detour, the route to it is no mystery—525 W 36th St. fl 6, between 10th and 11th Avenues, elevator straight to the top. From Penn Station it’s two subway stops or a ten-minute walk south, and the ascent is less about stairs and more about the view that appears once the doors open. You won’t find scheduled events listed on the doorframe, but the layout itself sets the stage: wide railings perfect for leaning, patches of lawn rolled out on AstroTurf squares, and enough wind to keep the air moving.

For anyone who lands on 36th with time to spare, the map is your quickest guide. Follow the directions straight to the sixth floor—no reservation required, no itinerary expected. The door stays open until the building locks up for the night, giving the terrace one of the city’s simplest pleasures: high ground with no cover charge.