Tompkins Square Park

A town square of sorts for Alphabet City, the eastern half of the East Village, Tompkins Square Park bustles with activity—recreational, cultural and political—all year round. Its facilities include basketball and handball courts, playgrounds and a dog run, but the park is best known as a site for political rallies and soapbox oratory and for such events as the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, the Howl! Festival (celebrating the late Allen Ginsberg, a longtime resident of the neighborhood) and Wigstock, an outdoor drag festival.