Everyone who visits New York gets sent to Central Park, and they should. But Central Park is a commitment. Sometimes you've walked eleven miles, it's four in the afternoon, and what you actually need is a chair, some shade, and twenty minutes where nobody asks you anything.
That's what these are for. Pocket parks are the small ones, often mid-block, often squeezed between two buildings, mostly built by people who thought a city should have places to sit. A few of them are privately owned public spaces, which means a company maintains them and you're welcome to use them. Several have waterfalls, which sounds like a gimmick until you sit down and realise you can't hear Third Avenue anymore.
We've listed them south to north-ish, with rough walk times from our door at 341 East 62nd Street. Everything here is free. Hours vary and some of the privately owned ones close in winter or in the evening, so if you're making a special trip, check before you go. Otherwise just stumble into them, which is the better way anyway.
Midtown's best blocks are the quiet ones, and these are the quietest addresses on them.