Children Playing in Central Park New York

Children Playing in Central Park, showing Plaza Hotel in the background. Vintage postcard published by Leighton & Valentine Co., about 1911.

In addition to diverse recreational experiences, Central Park provides great ecological and environmental benefits to New York City. Its more than 18,000 trees cool and clean the air and its vast acreage in the center of the City provides habitat for wildlife, including as a stopover on the Atlantic Flyway for over 200 species of birds. Throughout the Park’s history, pressures to add new features or use the Park for large events and non-recreational uses have threatened its purpose as a bucolic retreat from urban life.