Although New York City is known internationally as one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, there are many beautiful parks scattered across the city for people to enjoy. In between the soaring skyscrapers and continuous hustle and bustle of the city, New Yorkers are able to find some solace in relaxing parks.

Outdoor spaces can be found throughout all five boroughs of the city and are great places to get away from the city lifestyle. One of the most famous parks in New York City is Central Park. Located in Manhattan, Central Park can be accessed from Midtown, the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side.

The park originally opened in 1857 and has been a main attraction for tourists and residents ever since. More than 30 million people visit Central Park each year but the massive 843 acre park is also one of the best ways to enjoy outdoor space in New York City. Tucked inside the park are a wide variety of recreational activities for all ages to enjoy.

There are miles of trails for joggers, walkers, and bicyclists to explore. Expansive fields stretch across the park where people can play an array of sports, including football, baseball and soccer. During the winter season, two ice skating rinks open in Central Park, a highlight for children and adults.

The famous Central Park Zoo is also an exciting destination within the park to catch glimpses of anything from seals to polar bears. Central Park is New York City’s playground, especially during the summer. The annual Summer Stage is one of the most anticipated outdoor concert series in New York City.

International superstars in music, dance and theater have performed at Summer Stage. Central Park offers an enormous amount of activities and is one of the most beautiful spots throughout New York City. Across the East River in Brooklyn is another famous park. Prospect Park sits at the heart of Brooklyn and is a smaller version of Central Park.

Frederick Law Olmsted created both parks and has given both Manhattan and Brooklyn similar outdoor spaces to enjoy. Built in 1867, Prospect Park is 585 acres of green space where people can relax in isolation from the busy city streets. Located within Prospect Park is the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a magnificent spot to learn about wild plants and flowers.

Similarly to Central Park, Prospect Park also has a zoo and an ice skating rink inside its boundaries. Horseback riding can be seen on certain paths throughout the park, along with sports enthusiasts enjoying the track and fields spread across the park. A unique outdoor space in Queens is the Socrates Sculpture Garden.

It has been designed specifically to showcase art and sculptures. Located in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, the Socrates Sculpture Garden is a wonderful spot in New York City to spend time outdoors while taking in some artwork from the city’s talented artists.

The outdoor area was once an abandoned piece of land that has now become a beautiful park. Creativity and expression are the main focus of the park and an artist residency program is now offered. Another park that transforms a former abandoned area into one of the most popular parks in New York City is the High Line.

This park was created on elevated train tracks that are no longer in use. The High Line runs north to south along the west side of Manhattan, cutting through the trendy neighborhoods of the Meat Packing District and Chelsea. The narrow park offers views of the Hudson River and is a distinct outdoor space in New York City.

The High Line is popular for its progressive design and conscious measures to preserve the history of the elevated train tracks. Public art and local food vendors are often seen during a stroll through the High Line. New York City has plenty of unique parks throughout its boroughs. When the city lifestyle gets too hectic, there’s always an outdoor area to relax just around the corner
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The New York Yankees defeated the New York Mets 9-3 Sunday after a huge seventh inning to take the first leg of the Subway Series and tie the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.

The six games between the Mets and Yankees are always some of the most looked-forward to games of the entire season by fans in New York. No matter how the teams seemed to have been playing before, the stakes rise with pride and bragging rights on the line.

Since 2000 when the two teams met in the World Series, the games have only gotten more intense. Countless unforgettable moments make this series so much more than just a few games in the standings.

Fans will always remember the feud between former Mets’ catcher Mike Piazza and Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens which resulted in a hard fastball to Piazza’s head.

The Mets’ faithful will of course never be able to live down Luis Castillo’s error on a routine fly ball off the bat of Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth inning to lose the series in June of 2009.

It seems as though when these two teams get together, there are bound to be fireworks. Unfortunately, all we had heard about these teams early-on in the 2011 season had to do with abundant struggles and big problems that needed to be addressed to turn their seasons around.

This series showed signs that such rash judgments may have been a bit premature.

The Yankee captain Derek Jeter came up big amidst his struggles, driving a two-rbi single up the middle to tie the game in the bottom of the 7^th, sparking a monstrous eight run inning for the Bronx Bombers en route to victory.

The Yanks welcomed their hot inning, since they are so often criticized for only being able to score via Home Runs (most of which from the bat of the red-hot Curtis Granderson), and their lack of ability to play “small-ball” and manufacture runs. These criticisms are quite unfair.

As any baseball fan knows, teams always seem to hit better in the summer months when the whether gets better and the new players on the team (which the Yankees have plenty of) get a chance to become accustomed to their new surroundings.

Yankee fans need not worry, their team will be fine. Judgments of a team by their mediocre record in May must come with a grain of salt. Not to mention they are perched atop one of the toughest divisions in Major League Baseball, and have a better record than the Boston Red Sox who were deemed the favorites in the entire American League after all of their off-season acquisitions.

Injuries have really bitten both teams early on in the 2011 season. Yankee manager Joe Girardi is patiently awaiting returns from pitchers Phil Hughes and huge free agent pick-up, Rafael Soriano, who should bolster a pitching staff that when healthy, can be scary for opposing lineups.

In Queens, first year manager Terry Collins has had to deal with star players David Wright, Jason Bay, and Angel Pagan see stints on the DL, not to mention waiting for left-handed ace Johan Santana to return from off-season shoulder surgery.

All things considered, Collins has done a fine job so far in his first go-around in New York. Jose Reyes is having a career year, Carlos Beltran seems to be healthy again for the first time in nearly two-seasons, and knuckleballer R.A. Dickey seems to have become a fan favorite, holding down a seriously depleted pitching staff.

Coming into the 2011 season the Mets did not seem to have very high expectations, and yet they find themselves hovering right around .500, with a renewed attitude that could carry them into a fight for a wild-card spot in the National League should things go their way.

If nothing else, this series proved that the Mets could at least hang with one of the better teams in the league, even on the road.

As for the Yankees, winning this series may be a small victory in terms of the standings, but it was a bigger sign for fans, proving that this teams struggles are not permanent. The team must adjust to now being one of the older teams in the league, and with that, must come the knowledge that losing streaks happen. They have proven winners, veterans, and a solid mix of young talent that should allow them to make yet another run at a World Series title this season.

All in all, good things seem to be on the horizon for both New York ball-clubs. As summer begins, look for the bats to heat up, and both teams to compete night in and night out. There’s no quit in New York.

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