In New York City, green spaces are a big part of the urban experience. The luxury East Village homes at EVGB have innumerable attractions—exquisite interiors, expansive indoor and outdoor amenities, and a neighborhood that combines convenience with chicness. As part of that extended neighborhood, the public parks at Tompkins Square, Union Square, Washington Square, and Madison Square provide green refuges and just the right dose of city energy and community.

About 200 years ago, the four parks, along with Gramercy and Stuyvesant parks, were envisioned as a way “to stimulate construction in residential neighborhoods and to enhance land values in their vicinities.” In 2021, it’s clearer than ever that these parks enhance much more than the land values for people who live near them. And the residents of EVGB’s quintessentially NYC rentals live near all of them, with Tompkins Square a mere four-minute walk away, a stroll to Union Square clocking in at around 15 minutes, and Washington Square and Madison Square both at a distance of fewer than 25 minutes by foot.

Tompkins Square, a 10.5-acre park, has been an icon of free speech and dissent for much of its history. Currently, it encompasses a swimming pool and play areas for kids, basketball and handball courts, and a host of dog amenities, including the city’s original dog run. The centrally located Hare Krishna Tree is a testament to this park’s unusual character.

Union Square Park is a National Historic Landmark recognized for its role in the American labor movement (including hosting the first Labor Day Parade in 1882). Fifty-one years ago, the first Earth Day took place here, too, and Union Square’s greenmarket, the largest in the city, continues to be a colorful, exciting sustainability-minded destination on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays throughout the year. Among other things, the 6.5-acre park contains the off-Broadway Daryl Roth Theatre, a fairly intense street chess playing culture, playgrounds, and a dog run.

Anchored by its famous arch and memorable fountain/plaza area, the 9.75-acre Washington Square belies its earlier manifestation as a parade ground grown “shabby” with use in the mid-1800s. For decades, it has been one of the city’s prettiest and coolest hot spots for artists, poets, musicians, dancers, chess players, activists, yoga and tai chi practitioners, toddlers (who have their own playground, separate from the one for “big kids”), small and large dogs (who have size-specific runs), and seemingly ubiquitous NYU students and professors.

Named after President James Madison, the seven-acre Madison Square was designated as a public space in 1847 after serving as a hunting ground, a military training and munitions center, and a field for early amateur baseball teams. In the past 25 years, it has experienced a renaissance, culminating in a green space that features art installations, a summer concert series, horticulture workshops, and the sublime comforts of Shake Shack.

EVGB has so much to offer, inside and out, that there is even a fifth nearby (and smaller) public park, Stuyvesant, with its own individual appeal. If you’re not yet living at EVGB, contact us to find out how you can get closer to all this urban green and EVGB “greatness.”