New York City Playground Closure Status During COVID-19 Pandemic

Over 25 columns track the operational status of New York City playgrounds during the COVID-19 pandemic, including closure dates and reopening plans. The dataset was published by NYC Parks via data.cityofnewyork.us and was last updated in February 2026. It records temporary amenity closures as a public health measure.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between `Borough` or `Community Board` and `ClosureType` to identify geographic disparities in park access.
• Model the `Status` (open/closed) of playgrounds using `Latitude` and `Longitude` features for spatial clustering.
• Forecast `Approx Date Reopened` based on `Approx Date Closed` and `District` to understand phased reopening schedules.
• Correlate `accessibilityLevel` with closure duration to assess equity in public health interventions.
• Join with external datasets using `GISpropNum` or `OMPpropID` to enrich analysis with property-specific details.

Strengths

• Dataset contains 25 specific columns detailing administrative, geographic, and temporal attributes for each playground.
• Includes precise geospatial coordinates (`Latitude`, `Longitude`) and multiple administrative boundary identifiers (`Community Districts`, `City Council Districts`).
• Data feed is refreshed daily according to the source description.

Limitations

• The total number of playgrounds (rows) is unknown, preventing assessment of sample size completeness.
• Key fields like `Approx Date Closed` and `Approx Date Reopened` are approximate and may contain inconsistencies.
• Source notes the data may not reflect current conditions despite daily refreshes, indicating potential update lag.

Provenance

Source

NYC Parks, published via the City of New York's open data portal (data.cityofnewyork.us).

Collection Method

Administrative records compiled in response to COVID-19 public health orders.

Time Range

Covers the period of COVID-19 related playground closures and reopenings; specific start and end dates are not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-02 05, with a daily refresh schedule.

Geography

New York City, USA, with breakdowns by `Borough`, `Community Board`, and `District`.