Photographs: Casey Rosen
THE VIBE
Yeah, yeah, we know what you’re thinking. But look, it’s not as duh-obvious as Sheep Meadow; it’s airier than Union Square; and thanks to a recent $16 million-plus makeover, the 9.75-acre space is reemerging as one of the city’s most popular playgrounds—for kids and adults. Eligible ladies and gents of every race and sexual persuasion can be found reading on the benches, picnicking on the grass, shooting low-budget films near the dog runs and congregating around the fountain to have eye-sex with strangers; local jazz bands and unrelenting Hare Krishnas provide the atypical soundtrack. Feeling shy? Plop down for a heated chess match by the West 4th Street entrance, then channel your aggression into pickup artistry. Could that be your soul mate over there by the undercover narcotics officers?—Lauren Otis