Well, help is all around you! New York in the summer can be a fantastic place. All its wonderful attractions are waiting for you, but without the wintertime crowds. Just think cool, dress cool, slow your big city self down, and set out to enjoy the greatest city in the world.
What could be more cooling than water, and New York is surrounded by it, filled with it. Explore New York's water. Why not take the kids to the lovely playground in Gracie Square Park on Manhattan's Upper Eastside? Let them play in the sprinklers while you sit on a shaded bench. When playtime is over, stroll slowly along the East River promenade. Let yourself be cooled by the river breezes, entertained by the bikers and joggers and rollerbladers and dog walkers. Play a game with your children of counting and naming the various kinds of boats that pass on the river. Relax with a soda or ice cream from a side walk vendor.
Another fun water spot is the South Street Seaport. While there are a lot of great shops, including ones which your kids will clamor to enter, shopping need not be a part of your visit. Instead let the children explore the ships, visit the South Street Seaport Museum, which often has special programs for children, take a sunset cruise on a schooner, or relax with outdoor jazz concerts. There are plenty of places to rest, to roam, to eat, to have cool summer fun.
Lower Manhattan offers its own water attractions. There is the Staten Island Ferry with its famous inexpensive fare and priceless views. The quintessential New York experiences, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, are both reached by breathtaking water trips. An exploration of Wall Street landmarks can be capped with a relaxing stroll along Battery Park with its playgrounds, shaded rest areas and excellent people watching.
Head up the West Side and explore the Intrepid Museum which can be enjoyed by children of all ages. The Circle Line cruise, close by, offers cool river breezes and a different look at Manhattan Island. You can continue your water tour of Manhattan with a leisurely stroll through Riverside Park. This long, lush park offers a great variety of playgrounds, most with fun and unusual water sprinklers for washing away the summer heat and humidity. Riverside Park is also a great place for kids of all ages to rock climb, while you rest on a shaded bench. Stroll the promenade along the 79th Street Boat Basin, Keep heading north and visit the lighthouse made famous in the classic children's book, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge. And finally take a cool, breezy, exhilarating stroll across the George Washington Bridge.
You don't need to stay on the perimeter of Manhattan in order to take advantage of the cooling effects of water. Look carefully and you'll discover that even midtown offers many summer fun rest spots. Why not consider getting a head start on back to school shopping? Wouldn't your kids love getting their first choice sneakers instead of being told their size is sold out? Supplies of everything needed for back to school are plentiful in August. And when you've had enough shopping, just head for one of the many pocket parks that fill the midtown area. These cool, restful places often have soothing waterfalls that dull the noise of traffic along with tables to eat the snacks or full meals sold on nearby street corners or in the parks themselves. Also check out the indoor (air conditioned!) atrium spaces located in building lobbies of several large corporations and open to the public. These spaces frequently have exhibits that will pique the interest of children of all ages.
On those dog days of August when there isn't a water breeze to be found and all the rest stops in the world just won't cut it, head indoors. Try the Times Square TKTS booth for a Broadway matinee treat. Check the newspaper for family movies or children's theater productions. Or try exploring some of New York's smaller but excellent museums, the ones there just doesn't seem to be time for in the winter. The Studio Museum in Harlem, the Museum for African Art, the American Craft Museum, Sony Wonder Technology Lab, the Museum of the City of New York, El Museo del Barrio, to name just a few, offer programs and exhibits for all ages and interests.
No summer in New York is complete without a trip (or trips!) through Central Park. The Park has it all, and you can be as active or as lazy as you want. The kids will love watching the model boats at the boat pond, where they can also scramble over the Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Andersen statues. There are cool spots to enjoy ice cream cones. If you are in the mood for more activity, head for the lake and rent boats or bikes, or let the kids clamber over the rocks while you stroll the beautiful paths in the ramble. You can revisit old favorites like the zoo and the Carousel. Or discover for the first time the newly refurbished Harlem Meer, at the north end of the park, which offers a waterside park, fishing, a wildlife habitat island, playgrounds, and the Lasker swimming pool.
There you have it. Just a small sampling of the wonderful experiences awaiting you in the summer in New York. Dress cool, think cool water, and have a cool time!