Tuesday, September 9, 2014

camminando | Outodoor Fitness in NYC Parks: Central Park and Roosevelt Island

The temperature is quite comfortable and although the pain caused by the ear infection I head outside with two main purposes for the day: vote for the State primary and visiting one of the closest parks from the NYC Park Department website listing parks with fitness equipment. The Ross Pinetum in Central Park became my destination as I am mapping outdoor public spaces with fitness equipment available free of charge: the study fitness as public activity intersecting with public art and educational experience has become a component of my PhD research.  The visit was disappointing: although the Pinetum is an important space in Central Park for its numerous evergreen species, it lacked the fitness equipment I was hoping to locate. So far I was able to find such facilities only in Roosevelt Island: yet there is no attractive landscaping, paving or instructional signage to make the use of the equipment enjoyable and well guided to achieve a good workout experience. 
Pull-up bars are the only fitness equipment in the Ross Pinetum

Fitness equipment in Roosevelt Island