6 upcoming events · 2 local studios
Brooklyn's Dumbo sits right at the waterfront under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, and it punches well above its size when it comes to things to do with a small kid. Brooklyn Bridge Park runs along the water's edge and puts two good playgrounds within easy reach: the Main Street Playground, a nautical-themed climbing structure at Plymouth and Main with an honest-to-goodness boat sandbox, and the Pier 1 playground a short push down the path. On summer weekends the lawn fills up fast, but weekday mornings are easy and calm. The Adams Street Library, right in the neighborhood, runs Toddler Time and Babies and Books programs on a regular basis, which makes it worth bookmarking even before your kid is walking. For classes, groups like KIDprov and Puppetsburg run programming here too, pulling the kind of silly, creative stuff that goes over well with two- and three-year-olds. Transit is honest: Dumbo has one subway stop, the F at York Street, so most local parents lean on strolling the cobblestone blocks and hitting the park rather than hopping trains. The waterfront is genuinely gorgeous, and the bridges overhead make even a plain Tuesday feel like something.