Best Courts in NYC for Pickup Basketball

Manhattan

• Outdoor:
  1. West 4th (aka “The Cage”) – 8 mentions
  2. Stuytown (aka Stuyvesant Town’s outdoor courts) – 7 mentions (Note that StuyTown has both indoor and outdoor courts — one responder mentioned “secret stuy” and not sure if he means the indoor courts or that Stuytown is a ‘sleeper’ location)
  3. Central Park (at 100th St) – 4 mentions 
  4. Riverside Park (and courts on Hudson River Park) – 4 mentions (Outdoor courts along the Hudson are at 76th and 148th Streets)
  5. Chrystie Street Courts – 2 mentions (Outdoor courts on the Lower East Side)
  6. Hudson Sq Park – 2 mentions 
  7. Pier 25 — 1 mention
  8. Pier 34 and Canal Street — 1 mention
  9. Times Square – 1 mention (Likely outdoor, possibly referring to a temporary or street setup)
  10. 97th and 1st – 1 mention (Outdoor courts on the Upper East Side)
  11. Columbus Park (Chinatown) – 1 mention (Outdoor court in Chinatown)
  12. Battery Park City – 1 mention (Outdoor courts in this area)
  13. Forsyth Park (LES) – 1 mention (Outdoor park on the Lower East Side)
  14. Houston and 6th – 1 mention 
  15. 111 W 24th – 1 mention 
  16. 26th Street between 1st and 2nd – 1 mention

• Manhattan Indoor:
  1. Rooftop Runs in Tribeca – 1 mention 
  2. Greenwich Village Indoor Run – 1 mention (Sunday run noted)
  3. Indoor Hoops and Dynasty League – 1 mention
  4. Y on 14th and 7th – 1 mention (Indoor YMCA facility)
  5. Sky (Guest Pass) – 1 mention (referring to a private gym like Sky at Hudson Yards)
  6. Local Yeshiva Gym – 1 mention (Unspecified, could be any NYC borough, or NJ)

Bronx

• Outdoor:
  1. Rucker Park – 7 mentions (Rucker Park is technically in Manhattan but often associated with the Bronx)
  2. 216th and Barnes Ave or Gun Hill Rd – 1 mention
  3. Dyckman – 6 mentions (Upper Manhattan, often debated as Inwood vs. Bronx, but technically Manhattan)
  4. Bronx NY – 1 mention 
  5. Lincoln Park (New Rochelle, Westchester) – 1 mention (Technically Westchester, not Bronx, but grouped near Bronx)

Brooklyn

• Outdoor:
  1. Brooklyn Bridge Park – 5 mentions (Outdoor courts at Pier 2 or nearby)
  2. Gersh Park – 3 mentions (Outdoor court in East New York, Brooklyn)
  3. Pier 2 – 1 mention (Outdoor, part of Brooklyn Bridge Park but listed separately)
  4. Vanderveer Park, Nostrand Ave – 1 mention (Outdoor court in Brooklyn)
  5. Taaffe Park – 1 mention (Outdoor park in Brooklyn)
  6. Fort Hamilton Park – 1 mention (Outdoor court in Bay Ridge)
  7. Patchen Avenue and Madison St. (Bed-Stuy) – 1 mention (Outdoor courts in Bedford-Stuyvesant)
  8. Marine Park – 1 mention 
  9. Tillary – 1 mention (Outdoor court near Tillary Street)
  10. Cooper Park – 1 mention (Outdoor park in Brooklyn)
  11. Myrtle Ave – 1 mention 

*Not mentioned is Fort Hamilton High School courts — where Bernard King used to play. I’ve played a bunch of games on those courts for years back in the 1980s into the 1990s.

Also not mentioned are the courts on 14th Avenue by 86th Street — also great courts for full-court action. Played a ton of ball there back in 1980s into the 1990s.

• Brooklyn Indoor:
  • (None explicitly mentioned as indoor in Brooklyn)

Queens

• Outdoor:
  1. Astoria Park / Under the Triborough in Astoria – 2 mentions 
  2. Cunningham Park, 193rd Street Union Turnpike – 1 mention
  3. Montibellier Park – 1 mention 
  4. Juniper Valley Park – 1 mention
• Indoor:
  • (None explicitly mentioned as indoor in Queens)

Staten Island

• Outdoor:
  1. Staten Island – 1 mention — @ahmedi7__ simply said, “come to staten island jalen.”
  2. *PS 8 Courts in Great Kills — I’m adding this court tot he list. Having played basketball on Staten Island for years, this is one of the best courts for competition that I am aware of — the main court at PS 8 in Great Kills.
  3. *Walker Park — I’m also adding Walker Park up by Snug Harbor. It used to have a great reputation, but the area has gentrified and last few times I’ve gone there, the courts have been empty.
• Indoor:
  • (None explicitly mentioned as indoor in Staten Island)

Outside NYC

• Outdoor:
  1. Claverack Park – 1 mention 
  2. Tuckahoe, Winter Hill Rd. – 1 mention (Westchester County)
  3. Angel’s Gate Park (LA) – 1 mention (Los Angeles)
  4. Hommocks Lot – 1 mention (Possibly Larchmont, NY)
  5. Hoboken, Southwest Courts – 1 mention 
  6. Memorial Park (Bergenfield) – 1 mention 
  7. Chatham, New Jersey – 1 mention 
  8. Floral Park Recreation Center – 1 mention
  9. Otsego Park – 1 mention 
  10. Long Island – 1 mention 
  11. Thornbury Park – 1 mention 
  12. Ojus Park – 1 mention (Possibly Ojus, FL)
  13. Margate – 1 mention (Possibly Margate, NJ or FL)
  14. Cook Park (Sioux City, Iowa) – 1 mention
  15. Vancouver – 1 mention (Vancouver, Canada)
  16. Nashville, East Side – 1 mention (Nashville, TN)
  17. Hancock Playground – 1 mention (Unspecified)
• Indoor:
  1. AAC (Dallas) – 1 mention (American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX; indoor arena)
  2. Baps Robbinsville Mandir – 1 mention (Robbinsville, NJ; indoor assumed for temple gym)
  3. Jersey City – 1 mention