McCarren Park is its own ecosystem, sustained by the sunbathers on blankets, dogs sniffing benches, and families pushing heavy ice carts along the concrete path.

In the middle of it all, runners lap around a soccer field that glows green, and a sea of red and black uniforms gather at the center. If you zoom in, you’ll see those unifying colors have more diversity than meets the eye:  An Albanian is joking with a Serbian,…

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  1. Love this! Hooked by the description of McCarren Park as its own special ecosystem – which is exactly how I think of it. It’s like the biodiverse wetlands that nurtures and sustains the community around it. Also love the Ukrainian soccer team story. NYC’s soccer pitches are the proverbial melting pots.

  2. Great story!
    Too many self entitled dog owners have ruined this and pretty much every other park. There’s a dedicated dog run here, yet they feel the need to treat the rest of the park as their personal dog run / litter box. NYC has a leash law! Keep your designer animal leashed and take its feces home with you. If it’s too much work to follow simple rules, return it to where you bought it and request a refund. Perhaps purchase a fur swatch or use the fur lining at the hood of your Canada Goose parka as your emotional support animal. You can take that anywhere and won’t have to feed or clean up after it.

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