October 7, 2021 - Dewitt Clinton Park

Eleventh Avenue’s bike lane in front of Dewitt Clinton Park (w. 52nd - w 54th), offers one of the most serene views available within the middle-western part of Manhattan. Within the park, closest to the bike lane, there’s a ball-field of turf grass, which is large and expansive.

This afternoon, students from MLK High School’s soccer team played a small-sided scrimmage on the field (north to south), as I walked by around five-thirty. One side wore light blue pennies by Adidas, and the other side wore the same, though bright construction neon green.

Beyond the park’s ball-field there are handball courts, basketball courts, a small dog park, as well as a children’s playground. On any given day, especially at the height of the park’s peak hours –––– after work or school, from 3pm until nightfall, many different people will be doing many different things: yoga, boxing, ring around the rosie, calisthenics, meditation, running, sprinting, jogging; walking and talking; standing and talking; standing, talking.

From time to time, most often on Fridays, a band that plays salsa music will practice in a space behind and between the basketball and handball courts, providing a soundtrack for the park’s visitors. Once, not very long ago, I found myself hitting tennis balls against the wall of one of the handball courts on a Friday evening. The sound of the band’s saxophone and trombone and drums made it feel as though I was warming up for a match somewhere along the coast of Chile, or one of the islands of Central America. It was a hot and humid night in July, and the park was alive. No band today. Just soccer practice and moms and dads walking around the ball-field with their sons and daughters for a little while after school, and before dinner.