What Makes Footy Fest Special
For us, Footy Fest is a special thing.
It’s an opportunity to do what we can’t while we’re in the city.
To play on real grass, breathe fresh air, enjoy the sport of football somewhere the trees outnumber the buildings and pedestrians.
It’s an opportunity for the NYC Footy community to get together once a year, around what is really meaningful to all of us, around friends, family, and football, and try something different.
That’s the ethos we started Footy Fest with and it’s been a privilege to see it grow over the years into what it is now, a tournament where over 500 players come up to the Catskills and enjoy the quiet side of life for a weekend.
Last year we made a video about the experience of Footy Fest, with the intention of creating a sizzle reel for the upcoming year.
The video turned out to be anything but that. It really captures the soul of Footy Fest, in ways that I can’t hope to do here in this short blog post.
So if you haven’t gone before and want to understand what Footy Fest is about, or you have and know that how spending 5 minutes day-dreaming about it is time well spent, watch this video.
And if you’ve got any friends who might like to come, feel free to pass it on to them too.
Ever,
James
A message from NYC Footy. Reflecting on a challenging year.
Hi Footy Friend,
This is our year in review email. It's a once-a-year narrative and it's quite long.
You don't have to read this (and if you don't, at least scroll to the second to last image).
But, if you're curious what it's like to run a soccer league, then grab a comfort drink and settle in.
It's consistent with my random emails over the years that explain, in detail, what the hell is going on at Footy. Last year was the most intense year in our history and I don't think it's a stretch to say that, at moments, the entire operation was at risk.
Here's what went down.
TLDR: 2022 asked a lot from us, to a point where I was genuinely concerned about our future (and my health). But monumental efforts from a growing team helped right the wrongs, re-wire some circuits, launch new, helpful initiatives and set NYC Footy up for lots of new in 2023.
Summer 2011. First ever season of Footy. 2/3 founders can be found in this photo.
For years NYC Footy was such a small, manageable operation that we knew damn near every player in the league. It was pretty easy to get the "vibe" we were pushing because we played in basically all of the leagues and tournaments we offered.
Our original vision for Footy was one league in Williamsburg where we could set the standard and play weekly. Turns out quite a few folks liked the type of league we created for ourselves and it started to grow.
1st season at BBP. Again 2/3 founders in this photo.
Things changed first in 2013 when we got our first permit at BBP. But a larger inflection point was probably 2018 when we finally landed a permit in Manhattan (it took 7 years).
Our 1st season in Manhattan. Battery Park changed the game for Footy.
The biggest change, however, may have been the ripples of COVID in NYC. Creating migration patterns that welcomed many new New Yorkers, but also an acute need for activity and, more importantly, connection.
Footy B.C. (Before Covid) was a strong, steady, wonderful, and not necessarily small community of players in NYC. Since then, the community has nearly tripled.
Suddenly, things get far more complicated.
I am pretty focused on ensuring everyone in this league understands how important this operation is to us. Many of you don't fancy my long-winded emails explaining every decision we make. But others really appreciate it. I tend to fall in the latter category myself, which is why I over-index a bit on TMI.
2022 was far and away the most challenging professional year of my life. The year began without anyone working exclusively full time at NYC Footy. For me, it had been a full-time job already, but I was (and still am) running my other company (Uncubed). Gerardo and Joe also had other serious obligations. G managing a band that went gangbusters and Joe operating the most iconic hardware store in NYC.
At the start of last year, it became very clear that we could no longer run NYC Footy as we had for the previous decade. Everyone in the community deserved better.
Help is on the way.
I began seeing the demand was outweighing our abilities, no matter how many hours I worked. Fortunately, a few faces began to show up to help, starting with Grace, Gianluca and Kristin, all of whom came on board in part time capacities to support the overwhelming workload.
That's Grace. We met when she pointed out her jersey had a backwards "3" (jersey not pictured).
Last year there were, quite literally, thousands of brand new players. Far more than any previous year. For a league that is desperate to maintain the culture we've created, this is a massive opportunity to expand that, but also a real challenge to ensure so many new faces catch the drift of our operation and understood that Footy is a league built upon community more than anything.
The customer experience is at risk
With my declining success in responding to these new faces, we started to feel the bolts loosen on the operation. By now, I was downright failing on the attentive, quick-to-respond customer service standard we had set.
We also began seeing more league disruption. It wasn't a lot, but for our small team, it was the largest contributor to our stress. Perhaps a referee didn't show up on time (or at all). Or maybe goals were destroyed or we couldn't get into our storage box. Embarrassing stuff and we couldn't catch up because we didn't have enough resources.
The hight of this stress was the summer of this past year. I was living in Portugal for 3 months, working from 8am to 3am with no end in sight. To top it off, we suddenly lost one of our keystone contributors for 3 weeks that summer. That's about when I had to see a cardiologist because my heart started doing very unusual things (all checked out, thankfully).
There's light at the end of the tunnel
Fortunately, Grace came on board full time to support Kristin, who joined us full time a couple months earlier. Then, our first full time customer service hire started, Zimanta. "Zee' for short. This changed the game, as she began taking over the customer service tasks that helped all of us focus on ensuring we solved any potential league disruptions while continuing to meet the demands of players living all over this great city.
We started to see light at the end of the tunnel when G, my co-founder, reworked his schedule to commit a near full-time effort to Field Operations and ensuring we right sized the issues we were having with jerseys being delayed, goals being broken, and refs being unprepared.
Soon after, Gianluca committed a meaningful PT effort to his FT role at BetterPlayer to support field operations and our referee manager, Markus. His top priority: recruitment and training of new refs.
Finally, as we entered Q4, the referee shortage we'd been experiencing all year, causing the majority of our league disruptions and staff stress, was beginning to wane. We're not fully there (just this morning, we had a ref emergency at 3 fields), but we are a long way from 6 months ago. And I'm not going to bed at 3am anymore.
In October, just after the Footy Fest, the event that truly culminated an extraordinary year, Federico joined full time to direct our customer efforts and focus on player retention and happiness (this will be a never-ending job).
We rounded off the year by making a full-time offer to James, who started this year as our manager of marketing and communications. He's the fella that now preps these emails for me (and why you're starting to see some more consistency).
This also does not highlight the part-time help we continue to get from the likes of Ashley, Amanda, Thais, Markus and many more that keep our social media flowing, our designs original and our refs scheduled at the right field!
A general idea of what our team looks like now (minus our referees).
Meet the team.
I would love for you to meet this team and, as of yesterday, we have a number of faces up on our about page here.
This is a work in progress, because there are far more faces than these that help make NYC Footy what it is. For starters, the dozens of referees that have such a critical role in your experience (soon their faces will be up on our site as well).
So that's the story in a nutshell, but if you're interested in getting a more specific idea of the good, the bad and the go-forward, then read on.
A Lens Into The Good & The Bad
Lots of good. Here's a sample of what we're proud of this year.
As you might have noticed, Footy grew multiplicatively in 2022, welcoming more new faces in 2022 then in the first 9 years combined. This meant we had to expand current offerings and, where we couldn't expand, get creative.
Tournaments: Governors Cup became the largest soccer tournament in the city, spanning two days in June. The Footy Fest welcomed 500 players, turning it into one of the largest single-day gatherings of city slickers in upstate New York.
Sunset Leagues: We launched leagues that required players to kick off at 5pm on a weeknight. An experiment that was so successful, it will open way more doors for us this year.
New Locations: Thanks to an effort led by Kristin, we added dozens of new locations last year to accommodate the many New Yorkers that can't be bothered commuting anywhere!
Vampire Leagues: Nearly all of our vampire leagues (10pm to midnight) were full. Another exciting opportunity moving forward.
We Won a Small Business Award: We won the Mastercard City Assist Award for our contributions to the NYC community as a small business.
Sponsors & Partners: We welcomed NYCFC, Umbro, Pumpkin Pie and NY Orthopedics as league sponsors and partners, culminating in a Footy Day out at Yankee Stadium where 1,000 Footy players attended.
Return of In-Person Events: We came back with a bang with our 1st-timers happy hour, Champion's League Final (over 500 of you attended) and World Cup Viewing Parties.
Growing Online Community: We launched a new online community to help teams and players connect, fill rosters, avoid forfeits, play pickup and more. To date, more than 1K of you have joined.
There's more where that came from, but this email is already far too long!
Things we need(ed) to do better on
None of the above was possible without lots of opportunities to learn.
We had more moments than any of us are comfortable sharing where we...well I'll just use the metaphor...dropped the ball. The frequency was enough that we created a "league disruption form" to track these issues and ensure we took care of our players appropriately.
Condition of one of our fields after a concert
Field Changes: We had a field closed due to poor field conditions, a natural grass field destroyed after hosting a concert and a new field that came online a full month later than promised. In all scenarios, teams were re-located to different locations and different times.
No Ref: There were times when players showed up to a field and there was no ref.
No Equipment: Players showed up and our refs couldn't get into our storage box. Playing games with cones as goals.
Customer Service Delays: Before Zimanta joined, my biggest nightmare began to manifest. Customers not getting a response, or getting it so delayed that it no longer mattered.
That doesn't scratch the surface with internal challenges that made decision making and transfer of information seamless and efficient.
When we fail players, it's stomach churning. It creates more work for us, a growing number of "nastigrams" (some justifiable) and the need to dig ourselves out of a hole that should not have been there in the first place.
What I can say is this: league disruptions declined meaningfully between summer and fall, and have become almost non-existent this winter. That is very much credit to our laser focus on these issues and a committed team determined to solve them.
And The Footy (Changes)
In order to continue being the place where you can come hang, play and form the kinds of relationships that made us start this league in the first place, we're making changes that are frankly long overdue.
The first thing will be the least popular.
Generally speaking, prices are going up (with shades of grey).
Starting this spring, we are going to do something we've only every done once before. Raise prices. In fact, the average price for a team captain or free agent is less today than it was at any point in our history.
We've delayed this as long as possible, but it's clear with our nearly universal increase in costs, coupled with building a team that can maintain (if not improve) our standard, we have to. More to come on that in a separate email (cause we'll also have more opportunities to save).
We've increased our number of referees.
Over the last few months, we've increased the number of refs we have to over 50, and have implemented a new ref training program so that every ref who steps onto the field is fully prepared to best represent Footy.
Reducing waste.
We're looking to reduce our jersey waste by implementing return programs and making custom jerseys easier to make.
Get more out of our partners & sponsors for our community.
We've continued to grow our relationships with existing sponsors, and have made connections to new sponsors.
This means that things like getting tickets to NYCFC games and joining us for World Cup Viewing parties will not only continue, but will continue to grow as we add more programming in the year to come.
Doing more for team captains.
We some of the plans we have in store, we're hoping that by the end of this year, everyone will want to be a captain.
Here's to 2023.
We have a feeling you're going to love what's coming your way in 2023.
And if you don't. Tell us.
We have always thought of ourselves as a league for players, by players (every full timer here at Footy was a community member first), so your feedback on what we can do better is extremely useful to us.
Critical feedback, big ideas, funky requests, etc. All are welcome. Just be nice.
We apologize for the abnormally bulky, dry, text ridden email. We wanted to make sure that as we go into 2023, we did so with our intentions clear so that you can continue to get the soccer and community experience you deserve, and which is so vital and needed in the world we live in today.
With love, always,
Tarek and the Footy Fam
P.S. Enjoy the best email from 2022 👇
This email had me laughing for a week straight
Me laughing for a week straight
The Art of Recovery
Hey everyone,
We’re just about entering the third week of the new year. That means many of us are both mid season, focused on sticking to our New Year’s resolutions, and the regretful, albeit healthy, fad known as dry January.
This post is going to be a small introduction into how to stay healthy over the course of the year, and specifically how to recover.
Unless you grew up with a nutritionist, a doctor, or you’ve done considerable research on your own, you may not really know what to do with yourself when you reach your limit except to keep hitting that wall until you collapse, or to stop completely, neither of which are conducive to a healthy, sustained athletic life (or any kind of life).
It’s a fairly common thing for players to hit the ground running in the new year and not be able to sustain their exercise or soccer goals simply because they don’t think about recovery, so that’s what we’re going to go over here to today.
This post is going to contain pretty generalized advice. While it will get into specifics in certain circumstances, and we will be diving into more detail in subsequent posts, know that your body is different and while all of these factors are important facets in healthy recovery, how much they effect you individually will vary from person to person. So it’s best that you think about them as slices of a pie, and as you train and learn you augment how big a slice each part gets.
Before I get into my unsolicited, unprofessional, generalized advice that I’ve gained over a few decades of coaching and playing sports at a high level, I’m going to point you in the direction of my betters.
Specifically NYOrthopedics. If you ever get injured they should be your first stop on the road to recovery.
NY Orthopedics
NYOrthopedics has been serving the NYC area for over twenty years now, and is one of our sponsors at NYC Footy, a partnership that we’re really happy to have, especially as we get older and more injury prone. You may have seen them at Gov Cup, massaging strains, icing bruises, and just generally giving care where it was needed.
I have first hand experience with them and I can tell you that the care is excellent. Most, if not all, of the doctors there are athletes so they understand what it means to recover as an athlete.
Not only do they have experience on both sides of the coin, both as athletes and doctors, but as an institution they do a lot to make you feel like you’re being handled by people and not like you’re a cog in the medical meat grinder.
Signing up for appointments is incredibly easy, which can be done online in seconds.
They have a very comprehensive recovery program which will give you detailed instructions on what to do day in and day out in order to recovery in the most effective way right on your phone.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, while they take most insurances, if you’re uninsured they will go a long way to help out to make sure your health doesn’t suffer for the fear of the bill.
You can find their facilities all over the NYC area, and while I hope you don’t actually need to go visit them, should you get injured I wouldn’t really recommend you going anywhere else.
The rest of today’s post is going to be focused on the three main ways you can avoid going to see them, and how to take care of yourself through the year in very practical, no-nonsense way.
Let’s start it off with inarguably the most important way to recover.
Sleep and rest.
You can think of sleeping like investing in Apple 30 years ago. No matter how hard you work (how much stretching, icing, compression you do), nothing you do will net you the same return as just sleeping well.
This extends not only to sleep, but also to resting while you are awake. If you exercise 7 days a week without any time for your body to rest, you will see diminishing returns on the exercise that you do.
Resting and allowing your body to recover is the bedrock of what allows your body to take action and if you don’t do it, your performance, on the pitch, in the gym, running, wherever, will dwindle over time and you will inevitably hit a wall, rendering a lot of your hard work moot.
Sleep and rest represent the best and worst things about recovery.
The best thing is that your body is complex, highly intuitive, and it will repair itself without you needing to ‘learn’ what to do.
The downside is that to a certain extent you have to let go of control and allow your body take its course towards recovery. And if you try to speed up that recovery process, you’re going to inevitably add weeks, if not months or years, onto what could have been a fairly minor injury.
All of this is in service of saying, protect your sleep, let your body recover, and take rest days. It is as important than the exercise you do.
While rest and sleep do make a huge difference and are vital to your recovery, there is a lot you can do outside of your exercise routine that will ensure you stay active and healthy for the long run, sticking to those resolutions for months to come (or to throwing them out the window like the rest of us, but in a way that lets you still feel and stay healthy).
Nutrition
You are what you eat is just very real. What you put into your body will become your body. I don’t think a scientist would ever say it that way, but in essence that’s what happening.
There are certain stipulations within that. Obviously if you eat incredibly well and you sit on your couch all day, what you eat will make less of a difference if it is incredibly healthy or not.
I’m sure none of this is news to you at this point, but it bears repeating because what we eat and drink is a question that we’re faced with probably dozens of times a day and so it bears creating a little bit of a plan around.
I’m going to lay out three easy tips for how to becoming more nutritionally aware and healthy. This isn’t a diet plan. Not only does everyone’s body absorb nutrients differently, the amount of exercise each person does is different, but also people’s ability to spend money on food will be drastically different and a lot of ‘healthy’ food is simply more expensive and so is unavailable to some people. Therefore my suggestions are all tailored towards everyone, regardless of your diet, exercise plan, or food budget.
#1, plan your weekly activities: Thinking about how you’re active should be a big part about how you want to eat.
You should eat differently on a day when you exercise (carbs early in the day, even some sugars close to when you exercise) as opposed to a rest day (cheese, mostly cheese). Sincerely though, your body will take in and use nutrients different in activity versus rest, so take 10 minutes every Sunday, mark each day you are going to be active, and then adjust what you eat that day accordingly.
#2, avoid food fads. There are a ton of fads around nutrition that just aren’t real and are really a marketing gimmick.
The best example I can give is actually making a resurgence right now, which is cottage cheese. Yes. Cottage cheese, the food that sounds the most like a clogged artery, was marketed as a health food in the 80s, and is once again being lauded as a health food.
Without getting incredibly bogged down in the details, while cottage cheese is high in protein, it is also fairly dense in fat and cholesterol (less cholesterol than other cheeses, but when cheese is the comparison it’s not a great thing).
I bring this up only to say, don’t take these fad foods and diets at face value and don’t let them push you towards drastic changes in your diet all at once. Fad diets tend not to work and more often than not, they create a situation where you rubber-band back to the old eating habits you were trying to grow out of in the first place.
Is it ok to incorporate them into your diet? Of course it is, but don’t let them become the basis for everything you deem healthy. Instead, build around health foods you enjoy eating and cooking at home where you can control the ingredients, flavors, and cost.
#3, become nutritionally literate.
More than anything, this is going to help you make healthy choices about what you put in your body. Start by just learning how to read the labels on your food. Do you know the difference between unsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fats? It really is not a high bar, I promise.
From there, if you want to, you can move on to learning how your body processes carbs, proteins, and fats, but even if you stop at being able to read a label, it will help you so much in terms of putting a plan in place that suits your lifestyle so you can ignore people like me.
Warm-ups and Active Recovery
The final major block in the foundation of general healthiness is warming up and active recovery.
I’m talking about active recovery and warming up in the most basic senses, referring to jogging and stretching before the game, and stretching a bit after.
Warming-up is pretty self-explanatory and should be pretty obviously good idea. I see maybe 99% of players walk on and off the field in Footy without stretching, warming up, or cooling down (shout out to my friend Randy, who is 42 and still plays at a high level, because he stretches and warms up).
For the love of God, touch your toes, bend your knees, and swing your arms a little bit before you go full tilt on the pitch.
If you wonder why you hit a wall about 3-5 minutes into the game, it’s not because you don’t have the energy to play longer, it’s because your body wasn’t ready to dive into the deep end so quickly and it needs a little bit of time to establish a rhythm.
My view on warming up is that it’s like an on/off ramp to a highway. You have to build up your speed as you enter the highway, and reduce your speed as you come off. You don’t just go 0-60-0 when getting on and off.
If you sit at home or in an office for 6-8 hours, then get over to the soccer field and start sprinting immediately, you’re body is going to hate you and you’re just asking to pull a muscle.
Active recovery is the same framework as warming-up just on the back end. Stretch a little bit after your game while everyone is taking off their shinguards and cleats. It will help your body re-situate to not being as active
There is so much more that I want to talk about in terms of recovery, but as this is a brief introduction and overview, I’m going to cut it off here for today.
Don’t worry though, as this is just the first of an on-going series that will be rolling out this year, that focuses on how we can help you take care of your bodies as you strive towards whatever your fitness and Footy goals are.
-James
Neighborhood Spotlight: LIU Brooklyn
Hey All,
We’re back with another neighborhood spotlight, and this one comes to us right in the middle of Downtown Brooklyn.
With tons of new NYC Footy leagues springing up around the city as we roll into winter, I want to take this moment to point out one of our best looking new locations, LIU Brooklyn.
Those of you who have played with us during the winter before this year, and those of you who call Pier 5 home, probably were familiar with the gym at St. Francis. Sadly, this space is no longer available as the whole building got sold.
While it’s always sad to see a field go, especially one with so much connection to Footy, this makes LIU all the more special.
The gym at LIU is only a short walk from where St. Francis used to be, so those of you who live in Downtown Brooklyn or who covet a short walk from the subway to the gym won’t have to sacrifice a thing.
This is the LIU Brooklyn Spotlight!
LIU
The Pitch:
The gym is incredibly well maintained and as you can see above is gigantic.
We’ll be running a two games on the floor side by side so there will be a lot more soccer for you and your friends to play, especially for those of you who like to stick around and sub for the games after yours.
This also means there is plenty more space on the side where you can keep your stuff, change, and sub without worrying about an errant ball (or human) flying towards you.
It may seem like a small luxury, but most indoor fields are fairly tight on space and this is one of the few locations where you’ll have the entire large area at your disposal.
Indoor seasons are a great way to get into shape in the ‘off season’ as there’s always a way to be active on the smaller field, so LIU is a perfect chance for you to kick off those resolutions strong and stay in shape for the spring and summer seasons.
The Neighborhood:
Downtown Brooklyn is chock full of post game parlors for you and your team.
I’m going to point you towards a few of my favorite recommendations. If you’re someone who likes to explore on their own both Fulton St. and Lafayette Ave are littered with bars, restaurants, and coffee shops, and rest just a block away from LIU to the south.
On the other end, the Dekalb Market Hall is just a block to the west, so there’s plenty around you in any direction.
Wherever you go, if you have your friends, it’ll be a great place!
Up First: Alibi
Alibi
Alibi is this lists no no-nonsense dive, and it just so happens to have landed the #2 spot on GrubStreets list of the Top 50 Dive Bars in New York (you can check out the full article right here: Grub Streets 50 best dives).
Alibi is located just a few blocks up Lafayette Ave. If you’re looking for somewhere dimly lit, with draft beers, and a dart board this is the place for you.
The bartenders are incredibly jovial and warm, so your kindness towards them goes a long way.
IF you get up here and find that it’s not to your liking or is a little too packed, there are four other bars on this one block of Lafayette Ave, so just keep calm and mosey on.
Up Next: Fancy Free
Fancy Free
Good bar food, drink specials all the time, a friendly staff, not to mention it’s two blocks away from the field and sits directly in front of the subway.
As you can see, there’s plenty of outdoor space (with space heaters in the winter of course), and the indoor goes deep into the back and is filled with long tables so even if you come in with your whole team, you won’t have to worry about accommodations.
Perfect if you’re looking for that “ok fine but only one because I have stuff to do” drink.
Up Next: Walter’s
Walter’s
Walter’s falls more on the sit down and eat category than quick post-game drink, but if you’re playing on a weekend afternoon and want to spend some more time with your wonderful teammates, Walter’s is perfect.
They serve elevated American fare, have great drinks and brunch specials at your pleasure.
Additionally, they’re right across the street from Ft. Greene Park, so on those rare, crisp but comfortable winter days you can spend some time lounging among the trees or walking through the farmer’s market that pops up right across the street on weekends.
And Lastly: Rockwell
Rockwell
Rockwell is a great bar, serving beer, cocktails, small and large bites in a really nice space complete with a front street patio.
While all of this is well and good (and I do mean that sincerely) the real reason Rockwell finds itself on this list is because it is right across the street from the gym. Really, right across the street.
So if you and your friends are trying to make a quick exit from the gym and want to land back inside within 60 seconds or less, Rockwell is your place.
Directions:
LIU sits near the heart of Downtown Brooklyn, so there are about fifty different ways you can get to the field easily.
Subway: The G, 2, 3, B, D, 4, 5, F, N, R, W all have stations in close proximity to the field making it one of the most easily accessible locations around.
Bike: There are two Citibike stations on both sides of the gym, so if you’re biking (in the winter no less, bless your heart) you’ll find it super easy.
Bus: You can also use the B54 which runs along Myrtle Ave and will drop you right in front of the location.
As always, it’s been a pleasure to write for y’all and share what I can. I hope you take some notes and have a great season!
-James
Neighborhood Spotlight: Sofive Brooklyn
This week we’re bringing you one of the best indoor soccer facilities in the city, Sofive Brooklyn.
I’ve had the good fortune to play at a handful of tournaments at this location, which are hosted at Sofive regularly just because of how amazing the facility is. But now I’m happy to announce that for the first time, NYC Footy is hosting leagues at Sofive Brooklyn!
Sofive Brooklyn
The Location:
As you can see, Sofive is an incredible facility, with ten top of the line indoor turf fields ready to be used by all of our Footy players.
I personally love playing on this type of field, a tight indoor turf space with walls, as the games are always quicker and the action stays consistent throughout the game.
Everything about the location is top notch, the lines are clean, the goals are stable and the appropriate size, it’s easy to find the right field (see the giant numbers on the wall), and getting on and off the field for substitutions is super easy as each field has a door in the corner.
If you’re interested in playing at Sofive with NYC Footy, which you should be, we’re running two leagues on Tuesday nights this coming winter! You can register for either division by clicking the links below.
Sofive Indoor | 5v5 Coed | Tuesdays | P5
Sofive Indoor | 5v5 Coed | Tuesdays | P3
Just to reiterate, I cannot stress enough how excellent a facility this is. It is the type of place that a footballer would dream up if they were given a whole city block and just told to “build the best facility you can, don’t worry about the cost”. Trust me, it’s worth checking out.
The Neighborhood:
If there is one downside to Sofive, it’s that it is wedged between New Lots and Ocean Hill (specifically on 2015 Pitkin Ave in Brooklyn), which puts it fairly deep out there.
That being said, it’s NYC and there are a handful of simple ways to get out to the field as well as plenty of good options for post-game celebrations or commiserations, and this is no different at Sofive.
The first location I want to talk about regarding your post-game libations is actually Sofive itself!
Sofive’s Bar
Sofive is one of the few places in the city that has a fully functional beer tap (along with a grill and other great bar grub) inside the facility. This makes it by far the best location for any team that “wins at the bar”, because you’ve only got a paltry 20 steps between the pitch and the pitcher.
The bar area has a ton of seating, from high tables where everyone can sit together around a pitcher, to comfortable cushioned chairs where you can relax and watch one of the numerous flat screens dotted around the facility, which you can be certain will be playing Premier League, Champions League, and World Cup games and highlights throughout the day. Like I alluded to before, Sofive is really the one-stop-shop for all of your Footy desires.
Next up is Nowadays
Nowadays
Nowadays is one of my favorite venues in all of Brooklyn. They’ve cultivated a warm, welcoming, and open atmosphere in their large outdoor space, which is basically a small park. If you haven’t been before, make it a point to go, you won’t regret it.
Nowadays has a number of bars littered around their large venue space, so you’re never have to wait long for whatever you’re drinking. They also come well prepared with a food truck inside the park, ping pong tables as well as other games, and they frequently host musical guests and other events.
If you roll off the field and feel like you want to go out, this would be my recommendation.
Directions:
Train: The two nearest trains stations to Sofive are the L train stop at Sutter Ave and the A and C trains at the Liberty Ave stop. The facility is less than five blocks from both train stations.
Bus: The B14 runs up and down Sutter Ave (parallel to Pitkin Ave) and will drop you off two blocks from the field.
Bike: The nearest Citibike station is five blocks away (on Atlantic Ave), so I would suggest taking the subway. But if you’re committed to the ride, the station is right next to the Atlantic Ave L train stop.
As always, thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time!
-James
JOINING AN NYC FOOTY LEAGUE WITH A GROUP OF FRIENDS
If you do not have enough players to register a full team, but you want to ensure your group of friends plays together, then be sure to “register as a small group”.
Here’s how to do it:
Choose your Desired League.
The most important step is knowing where and when you want to play. NYC Footy has leagues all over New York City, every day of the week. You can find leagues by clicking “Leagues (By Location)” in the navigation and selecting your desired neighborhood. Or, you can select “Leagues (By Skill)” if you’d prefer to only see available leagues by skill level.
Once you and your friends decide on the best league, you’ll start the registration process.
Click “Register” and Select “Small Group Member”
Once you have found your desired league, you’ll click on the blue “Register” button. From here, you’ll see a little pop-up window like this:
Create or Join a Small Group
Once you select “Small Group Member,” you will begin entering your registration details.
If you are the first in your group to register, then you will select “I want to create new Small Group.” You’ll then be prompted to give your Small Group a name.
If a small group has already been created, then you will select “I want to join existing Small Group” whereby you’ll click on the dropdown and select the appropriate small group that your group will be joining.
Complete the Registration Process
The rest of the process is straight forward and applies to all players. You’ll fill out the rest of your registration details, pay the league fee and you’ll be all set.
In the days leading up to the season kickoff, NYC Footy staff will ensure your small group is together on a team and additional players will be added to complete the roster. Additional players may be made up of other small groups, or individual players.
Now that you know how to register for a small group, take a look at our available leagues here.
Neighborhood Spotlight: The Aula
Nowhere feels quite as much like New York City than Soho. Brooklyn, Queens, and uptown Manhattan are all amazing. But Soho, and by extension downtown Manhattan, is what makes the city The City, which is why we’re so happy to have brought in The Aula Gym to our repertoire of locations for this upcoming winter season.
The Aula Gym
The Location:
The Aula Gym, located on 268 Mulberry Street, is outfitted for tight, fast-paced, 5v5 games. The court itself is fairly wide, so you don’t have to worry about running into the walls unless you have poor self-control like yours truly.
If you’ve never played indoor of any kind, it’s much more action packed than playing outdoors. There is no position on the field that isn’t active at any one time. So if you’re looking to get (or stay) in shape during the winter, any indoor league is a great way to do so!
Personally, I love playing indoor during the winter (goalie here), because of the fact that there’s way more action, it’s much easier to field a team of 5 than it is to field a team of 8 or 11, and, obviously, I get to be inside. All of which is available for the first time with NYC Footy at The Aula!
The Neighborhood:
I’m going to lead this section off by saying that there is almost no way I will be able to do the neighborhood justice and the treasure trove of bars and restaurants justice. That being said, here are a handful of places that you can start with with your friends after the game.
Up first is Momoya Soho
Momoya Soho
Momoyo is an absolute stunner of a restaurant, serving exquisite Japanese fare in the perfect location, just across the street from The Aula Gym.
Apart from the staples of sushi, sashimi, and tempura, all of which are incredible, they have a brunch menu so you and your friends can savor some sangria alongside your sashimi right after your game!
If you’re looking to start the weekend off correctly (getting brunch drunk and eating delicious Japanese food at a classy restaurant immediately after your Footy game), this is the place to do it.
Second is Botanica Bar
Botanica Bar
If you and your team are looking for a dive bar that’s not far, look no further. Botanica Bar is directly across the street from the gym and is one of Mulberry St.’s staples.
Botanica’s has everything you might expect (and want) from your local dive bar: beer and shot combos, great happy hour deals, the good kind of good-bad frozen margaritas (read sweet and boozy), and year-round outdoor seating equipped with heat lamps.
If there’s one drawback to Botanica’s Bar, it’s that the no longer serve food. That being said, they’re incredibly happy for you to bring your own. Whether that’s a zippy filled with goldfish and cheerios, or a pie from Prince Street Pizza just one block away is up to you.
Third and lastly is Sláinte Bar
Sláinte Bar
I would be remiss if I didn’t round out this section with Sláinte Bar, as it’s probably one of the best bars to watch football in the city. Apologies to any long serving patrons for blowing up your spot.
They’ve got football on the TV basically all hours of the day, and you can be sure that come World Cup season this winter, they’ll be serving hordes of fair-weather football fans, myself included, day in and day out.
This being the case, it might behoove you to get in before the crowd and make friends with the staff so that when they’re scanning the hordes of Americans praying for the Welsh to beat the British because we goose-egged against Iran, they’ll recognize your wonderful, smiling face, and serve you that Stella you’ve been waiting for.
Again, this list is just scratching the surface of the bars, restaurants, and everything else available to you in Soho. If you’ve got recommendations of your own that you think should be added to the list, feel free to fire back some ideas at our instagram @nycfootyofficial!
Directions:
Subway: The gym is about two-blocks from the J, Z (Bowery Stop), 6 (Spring St Stop), B,D,F,M (Broadway Lafayette), and the R, W (Prince St. Station), which means if you’re having trouble finding a train to the gym, you’re probably in Jersey.
Bike: The gym is a short distance from the Williamsburg Bridge, which means that it’s both easy to get to from BK, and that there are dozens of CitiBike stations around the gym.
Bus: The M21 runs up and down Houston St. very frequently, so if you find yourself downtown, but way over on the West Side, it’s a very easy trip.
And that’s it. As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see some of you at the Aula very soon!
-James
Neighborhood Spotlight: Sternberg Park
Sternberg Park Spotlight:
Sternberg Park
Hey All,
I want to introduce you to my favorite field in NYC, Sternberg Park. While it may not have the skyline views, or the most space, and might even have a gentle and humbling slant in one direction, it holds a special place in my heart.
The reason Sternberg is such a special field, is that it was the field that helped me to escape the pandemic when it was at it’s most suppressive, and which in turn led me to NYC Footy.
In the midst of Covid’s early stages, where nobody really knew anything, toilet paper was worth more than Ethereum, people were sanitizing Amazon packages with lysol wipes, and the only people who were holding were essential workers, who in reality are always holding us together, I had to good fortune of running into a few friends of mine who were going to a field to play some pick-up soccer.
They brought me to a field (Sternberg) where we slipped through a fence that may or may not have been inversely repaired by a good samaritan in the neighborhood and found ourselves on a huge and empty pitch. We proceeded to play a small pickup game for hours entirely unperturbed.
Over the next couple of weeks, we bought nets, made a group chat (the first of what would be far far too many soccer group chats) and grew into a community. Or as everyone called them at the beginning of the pandemic, a pod.
It might seem like an exaggerated thing to say, but without this field, without that community and that experience, I don’t know where I would be right now. When everything else was collapsing, these pickup soccer games at Sternberg Park were far and away the best thing. Admittedly, it was the only game in town, but the point still holds true.
Sternberg was the place where I, and a group of what started as 6 and that snowballed into a group of over 60, could go to get away from everything during a time when that was needed the most. It is also where I met the people who would make up my soccer tribe (shout out to Left Footed Letdown).
Sternberg became a second home in the city, somewhere I felt always welcome and surrounded by friends and loved ones.
The reason I bring this all up, is that as the world and the city transitioned out of peak Covid, and as things opened up and Sternberg Park became slightly less vital and specific resource, NYC Footy became that chamber of community for me as I believe it is and has been for so many others.
Many of us have such a field. A place where, week in and week out, people spend those preciously important hours with their friends, their self-selected communities, their homes away from home and I’m incredibly happy to selfishly be able to share mine with you all.
NYCFooty holds leagues at Sternberg Park year round, and BetterPlayer holds practices there year round as well! So whether you’re a seasoned veteran, or you’re just looking to get started, this is the place for you.
Welcome to Sternberg Park.
The Field: Sternberg Park was renovated by the NYC Parks department during peak Covid (2020) so the turf is new and very clean.
No bumps or divots to blame your bad passes on. Apart from the ever so slight tilt towards one end of the pitch, it’s a field in perfect condition.
The fence outside of the field is even high enough that only the most misguided of shots will make it over.
We typically play three 7v7 games side by side, for which there’s plenty of room. And we hold BetterPlayer practices there in the AM, so if you live in the neighborhood you should come check it out.
The Neighborhood: Sternberg Park is located in East Williamsburg, roughly speaking, and so the list of bars and restaurants you can find within throwing distance of the field is very high.
That being said, there are a few places of note that I want to put in front of your face, just so you feel like you’ve got somewhere to start.
First is Duck Duck
Duck Duck
Duck Duck is bar that is almost synonymous with Sternberg Park. On any given game-day, you’re liable to find 20-30 Footy players perusing this warm bar, decorated (tastefully) with toy ducks.
They’ve got a healthy list of draft beers, craft beers, and most any sort of liquid delight you could want. The barroom itself has a ton of seating, including a huge bar, tables everywhere, a cozy seating area.
If there’s one drawback, it’s that the bar is cash only. But it’s a small mark against it, as they do have an ATM inside the bar.
If you’re at Sternberg park and you’re looking for a warm drink, or to meet more of the Footy community, head to Duck Duck.
Extra Credit: Duck Duck happens to sit directly across the street from the Win Son Bakery, which is an amazing Taiwanese joint that serves everything from breakfast sandwiches, friend chicken, and more traditional Taiwanese bites.
Second is The Graham
The Graham
The Graham is a personal favorite of mine; a tavern that sits just a quick walk away from the field and who proudly states that “The soup of the day is tequila”.
Recently, The Graham has begun to pivot itself to a more upscale type of scene during the day. But at night, it remains the same warm tavern with good food, outdoor space that runs half the bucket, buckets of beer, and year round frozen margs. It’s the kind of place you won’t mind going to for a quick drink after your game, only to realize you’ve been there for 2 hours and you still don’t want to leave.
Extra Credit: They have heat lamps.
Third is Blinky’s
Blinky’s Bar
If you’re looking for a bar that you could picture yourself going to on a Friday or Saturday night (or a Tuesday afternoon, live your life), Blinky’s is an excellent choice. Between it’s Miami Vice color scheme, the spacious backyard, excellent cocktails and cheap beer. I promise you’ll enjoy yourself one way or another.
Extra Credit: If you get to Blinky’s and it’s too full, the good news is that you’re now on Grand St., which has more bars than Williamsburg knows what to do with. I’d recommend scuttling over to The Whisky on Grand, which is a sports bar with tons of room, as well as bar games like ping pong, shuttle board, and darts.
Directions:
The field is incredibly easy to access from almost any way you choose.
Subway: The field sits a five minute walk from both the G (Broadway) and L (Montrose Ave) trains, as well as the J and M (Lorimer St.), making it incredibly accessible from nearly everywhere.
Bus: The B46 and the B48, which run along Broadway, both stop a block away from the field.
Bike: There are a handful of CitiBike terminals littered on every side of the field. You can pick a random direction, start walking, and you will find one.
Thank all for listening and until next time!
-James
Neighborhood Spotlight: Astoria (Upper 90 Rooftop)
Hey Footy Family,
Many of you may already been familiar with Upper 90, as it’s one of the best soccer stores in the city, but some may not know that they also have four beautiful futsal sized fields in their Astoria location.
Between the two fields inside on the ground-floor and two more on the roof, there is soccer going on all the time here and the fields are incredibly nice. There is something wonderful and uniquely metropolitan about playing soccer on a rooftop
The store is usually open when games start as well in case you need to grab any last minute supplies like shin guards or goalie gloves, not to mention there's a small little bar wedged between it all where you can pick up snacks, gatorade, a quick post game beer.
Up Next: Astoria
Astoria U90
The Field:
All of the fields are made for 4 on 4 games, 5 on 5 if you include the goalies in your count. If you're unfamiliar with how futsal fields are designed, the entire field is wrapped in a wall, with nets covering everything above chest height on the upstairs fields, and walls going all the way to the roof on the downstairs fields. The goals are also designed lower, only about 3 feet high, so make sure you keep the ball low when you shoot.
Since the field is so compact and there's effectively no out of bounds games are incredibly action packed. Even though there are only four field players out on the field at a time, make sure you have a deep roster as everyone is moving all the time on a pitch of this size. If you're looking to join a fun, exciting, fast pace league, register for NYC Footy here. If you're a beginner looking to get into soccer, you've haven't played in years, or are just looking for some extra touches during the week, sign up for our Better Player program!
Remember that cleats aren't fit for this field so bring turf shoes!!!
The Neighborhood:
Sek'end Sun: A laid back cocktail bar right in the heart of Astoria and just a short walk from the field, that hits just the right spot between upscale and laid back. Sek'end Sun features an excellent roster of cocktails, a solid beer list, great food, and a super friendly staff. The bar has a ton of space and a big backyard. The bar itself is dressed down with warm, welcoming lighting, so feel free to come as you are, however you are.
Sek’end Sun
Oliver's: I've been told on "good" authority (shout out to No Hand's) that Oliver's is one of the go to bars for Footy Teams that play at U90. A tap house with a welcoming, warm atmosphere on the inside and heaps of space out front, you'll find everything you could want here and probably a bit more. Cocktails, taco Tuesdays, and trivia nights, pop in if you're looking for a solid time or to get in with a little bit more of the Footy crowd. I’ll also give a quick shout out to Las Margaritas, which is right across the street and serves great pitches of frozen margs if that is more you speed.
Oliver’s
Cronin's and Phelan's: If you're looking for a classic Irish pub, just a block away from the field, look no further than Cronin's. What is best described as another great good place, they've been serving Astoria for over 100 years, so rest assured they know what they're doing. They've got knockout pub fare, more whiskey then you can, or should, shake a stick at, and karaoke nights, this might just become your second Footy home. Did I mention, their head bartender is also a magician?
Cronin and Phelan’s
Directions:
Train: Both the M and R trains stop right underneath the facility at Steinway St. and the N and W trains will drop you off about 5-10 minutes away at 36av
Bus: The Q101 will drop you off right where the Steinway subway stop is and the Q66 only a block further away, so either one will get you right next to the fields.
Bike: There's a city bike station right on the corner where the facility is and if you're coming from Brooklyn or Queens, it's a fairly straightforward trip.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Neighborhood Spotlight: Peter's Field (Gramercy)
Hey Footy Family,
The next field we are adding to our ever-expanding repertoire of NYC locations is Peter's Field in Gramercy. The field was only set down less than a year ago and every league we've had here fills up incredibly quickly. Make sure to keep this one on your radar!
Up next: Peter's Field (Gramercy)
Peter’s Field in Gramercy
The Field:
Peter's Field in Gramercy Park looks fairly innocuous. You've probably passed it by if you ever bike through the city as the second avenue bike path runs right alongside it.
When the city laid down new turf over what used to be just concrete, in October of 21', they quietly turned the field into one of the best places to play in lower Manhattan.
It's a city field through and through. While I love idyllic open fields and wide open spaces, I think there is something beautiful about playing soccer right in the midst of all of the hustle and bustle of NYC. It's a reminder that you don't have to get away from the city, but you can disappear on one of these small but invaluable plots of land around the city, and that's where you can really make the city yours, which is exactly why we love this field.
The Neighborhood:
I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that most of you have already been out drinking on or around the Lower East Side, but there are still a few bars I would like to recommend at least to put on your radar.
Barfly NY: Just a block away from the field, Barfly fits the bill for your classic sports bar/pub to a T. They've got a pool table, darts, happy hour specials, and a bartender who, if you spend some time warming up to them over your season, might supply you with one or two free rounds of shots.
Barfly, NY
The Winslow: Right on 14th street, the Winslow is one of the few proper gin bars in the city that was created to be like a British-style pub and eatery. Don't be intimidated though, The Winslow is an incredibly friendly, warm environment. They regularly have trivia nights, happy hours until 8PM, live music, and will even educate you on how their gin is made.
Winslow, NY
Taproom 307: If you or your team are looking for some craft beers after your game, look no further. Taproom 307 has dozens of craft beers, which they rotate season to season, and great bar food including flatbread pizzas, and cocktails. They're always airing movies or sports on their giant wall projector too, so rest assured you will be entertained.
Taproom, NY
Directions:
Train: If you're coming from Brooklyn or the West side, I recommend taking the L and walking up. Otherwise, I recommend taking the 4, 5, or 6 to 23rd street, which is just a five-minute walk away from the field.
Bike: As per usual, the field is incredibly easy to get to by bike, as the 2nd avenue bike path runs right alongside it.
Bus: The M15 runs downtown along 2nd avenue and uptown along1st and will drop you either right next to the field or only a block away.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Neighborhood Spotlight: Sunset Park
Hey Footy Fam,
We’re here to tell you about another one of our amazing fields, this one’s in Sunset Park, right along the water.
The Field:
What on the surface seems like just another field in a typical NYC park, Sunset Park is anything but. The whole park sits on top of a hill, the tallest in the surrounding area for miles, which gives you a breathtaking view of the city skyline. Sunset or high-noon, it doesn’t matter.
The field itself is in good condition. It’s all turf with goals at the field, good lines, and a fairly tall fence so even the most misguided shots won’t dovetail into some poor family’s picnic. If you’ve been playing for any amount of time in NYC, the field should be a familiar sight.
The Neighborhood:
Down below the Red Hook inlet, Sunset Park is surrounded by quiet streets, on the border of where the city goes from urban to suburban, but with the best of both worlds. No crowds, low noise, beautiful parks, and easy parking side by side with great bars, easy public transportation, and some of the best food around.
To start it off, let me tell you about one of my favorite spots, Judy’s
Judy’s
Judy’s: You know that one friend you have that seems to be able to do twelve different things, exceptionally well, without batting an eye and still being a genuinely (read frustratingly) kind person. That’s Judy’s.
Judy’s is a bar, coffee shop, and a small shop wrapped into one. They serve and sell everything. all day, but the vibe switches from coffee shop during the day, to bar at night. During the day they have freshly made pastries and at night they make their own pizza. They’ve got sidewalk seating, indoor seating, and a patio with a roof. Judy’s alone makes the trip worthwhile. Did I mention it’s across the street from the field?
L’wren
L’wren: Don’t be fooled by the sleek interior or the french name, L’wren is a wonderful and incredibly friendly bar. They’ve got an assortment of amazing food, from tacos to table popcorn, excellent cocktails, and if you like what you taste, you can even order 35oz of freshly made margarita to take home with you in a bottle if you want. They have outdoor space on both ends, a great atmosphere, and are located just across the street from the park.
Minnie’s Bar
Minnie’s: Female owned. Check. Let’s you order pizza from table 87 to the bar. Check. Has nothing to do with Minnie the Mouse. Check. Minnie’s is your fun, easy, casual bar that you and your team will find it hard not to become regulars at. They’ve got boardgames, a great backyard, and five dollar beers, don’t think too hard. This place is a catch.
Directions:
Trains: The quickest and easiest way to get to Sunset Park is on the R and N Trains, which stops at 45th, only 1 block away from the field. The D train also stops five blocks away from the field at 36th.
Bike: There are Citi bike stations on two corners of the park and the park itself is an easy bike ride from anywhere in the city.
As always, thanks for listening.
-James
Neighborhood Spotlight: Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pier 5)
Hey Footy Family,
I'm here to talk to you today about one of the best parts about being a footballer in New York City, Brooklyn Bridge Park, aka, Pier 5. I won't mince words here, Pier 5 is the best place to play soccer in New York City. You can make arguments as to why other fields are the best, which I would listen to politely, before simply showing you a photo or taking you to the field and letting that do the talking.
NYC Footy is lucky enough to have permits here all throughout the week, as well as BetterPlayer programs on most days. If you're interested in playing at the Mecca of soccer in NYC, sign up right below.
Up next: Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park
The Field:
It's hard for me to resist just letting the sight of the field convince you that you need to play here, even just once, as nothing I can say will make a better case for the field. So I won't.
NYC Footy at BBP
There is no other field that encapsulates the grandeur of living in New York City, while sequestering you from the non-stop energy of the city like Pier 5. The field is huge, well kept, and boasts one of the best views of the city, spanning downtown Manhattan, Governor's Island (shout out to the Gov Cup), The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the inevitably magnificent sunsets to the West. It's been my soccer home for a few years now, and I promise once you play here you won't want to go anywhere else.
The Neighborhood:
The neighborhood around Pier 5 is a wonderful place to explore, even if you're not planning to hang out with your team after the game. The promenade where the field is located makes for a lovely walk and the street leading to the field from the subway is quietly one of the nicest streets in the city, with cobbled streets and beautiful houses that you can ogle and dream of living in one day when rent prices go back down, so not anytime soon.
Forninio's: Only one pier and two minutes from the field, Fornino's is a great place to drop your weary legs after the game, especially during the summer. Fornino's has the same spectacular view as the pitch, but elevated, so maybe even a little bit better. They've got cool drinks, excellent food, and a really friendly staff.
Fornino’s
Floyd's: If there's one bar in all of the city that I would say is "the Footy bar" it's Floyd's. Floyd's is the best version of the warm post-game pub you can find within any reasonable distance of Pier 5. They've got soft, comfortable couches, a big projector playing any sports you might ask for, one of the sweetest bartenders in the city, and a bocce ball track inside the bar. If you want to meet and relax with some of the best people in the world, head to Floyd's after your game.
Floyd
Table 87: About a 5 minute walk from the field, Table 87 has no right to be as good as it is, but I'm grateful that it is. At least that's what I believed until I realized that Table 87 was featured on Shark Tank and took away a $250,000 investment from the show. What seems like a fairly inconspicuous pizzeria brings excellent food and service, high above the bar pizza, some of the best frozé the city has to offer (read, you will go for 1 drink and walk out having had 3), and these amazing little roasted garlic bulbs that I recommend you take with any chance you get and use in your own kitchen. You can thank me later.
Table 87
Directions:
Train: The Borough Hall stop is your best bet, where the 2, 3, 4, 5 and R trains stop. If you're off the N or W, Court St. is only a few blocks away from the field.
Ferry: The New York Ferry has a stop right at Pier 6, next to where Fornino's is just a two minute walk from the field. You can catch the ferry at a handful of locations in lower Manhattan, as well as along stops throughout Brooklyn and Queens making it a surprisingly convenient way to travel around the city.
Bike: There is a bike path that runs along the waterfront, which passes right in front of the field. There aren't any Citibike stations right on the field, but there are a slew of them within a five minute walk of the pier.
Thanks for listening,
James
Neighborhood Spotlight: Star-Spangled Playground
Hey Footy Family,
Clinton Hill is near and dear to me as it's where I call home. The one drawback of the neighborhood is the dependence it has on the G train, which is to trains what the Knicks are to New York sports fans. A continual letdown. The Star Spangled Playground for your NYC Footy and Better Player games and practices because now you can simply bike or walk to the field while your friends and teammates suffer the single line nightmare that is the G train.
In all seriousness, the Star Spangled Playground is the perfect field if you're looking for a place to take you out of the hubbub of the city to play some soccer and enjoy one of the best neighborhoods in the city.
Up next: Clinton Hill
Clinton Hill
The Field:
Located just on the edges of Clinton Hill, Bed Stuy, and South Williamsburg, the Star Spangled Field is a spacious, turf field tucked away on a quiet residential street. The field eludes the noise and energy of the city around it, except for that one guy who always seems to argue with the refs, we can't do anything about that. Believe me we've tried.
Just a few blocks away from Pratt, the field is fairly large with plenty of room for two games. The park itself is larger than just the pitch, with a playground, track, and other facilities, which means NYC Footy games and Better Player practices can really use the entire breadth of the space without worrying about sharing the field or vying for space.
The downside is that the field is currently in need of a proper makeover, which we expect to happen soon.
The Neighborhood:
The area around the field has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to bars and restaurants you can hop to after (or before) your games.
Chilo’s: Only 4 short blocks from the field you'll find this tequila bar ready for you with a backyard taco truck, frozen margaritas and plenty of outdoor seating. They also offer discounts on drinks for teachers on Fridays, which is as enlightened a policy as I've heard of in a long time.
Chilo’s
Mekelberg’s: Only two blocks further down the road, you've probably already heard of this place, but it's worth bringing up again. The bar hosts a long list of beers and wines, happy hour specials, a dangerously well stocked mini-market attached to the bar, and one of the best dam hot chicken sandwiches in Brooklyn. They've got a small backyard, and your standard parking space patio in the front of the establishment for you and your team.
Mekelberg’s
Do or Dive Bar: All it took was a couple hastily taped V's and a long line through the word "restaurant" on the yellow awning to change the Do or Dine restaurant into the grungy and lively Do or Dive. If you want to drink PBR's in a backyard, or inside amongst the throwback neon signs littered around the bar surrounded by friends, this is the place for you.
Do or Dive Bar
Fun Fact: Mekelberg's in Clinton Hill is one of only a handful of places in the city that carries one of the best cheeses in the world, Old Witch. If you stop by, make sure to pick up a slice (or in my case 5) from the fridge. Trust me, you will love it.
Directions: If you don't live off of the G train, or if it's not an easy transfer for you, I do recommend biking to the field as it's in one of those pockets of Brooklyn where your options are G train or nothing.
Train: The field is 3 blocks away from the Classon Ave G train stop.
Bus: The B46 bus stops directly in front of the field.
Bike: There is, as always, a Citibike station located conveniently in front of the field.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Get Kicking!
As always, we'd love any feedback you have about the fields, how to get there, or any hidden gems in the area. We promise to keep your secrets safe within our email blasts.
Neighborhood Spotlight: Chelsea Park Field
Hey Footy Family,
I hadn't discovered Chelsea Park until late last year and it made me question why I hadn't found this field earlier in my career. The atmosphere around the pitch incredibly calm, the field itself is beautiful and since its situated in a fairly large park, you don't feel closed in by all of the buildings. If you live in Manhattan, Queens or near the water in Brooklyn, I highly recommend checking this field out for your next NYC Footy league.
Up next: Chelsea Park
NYC Footy at Chelsea Park
The Field:
Chelsea Park is a beautiful, well kept, well sized turf field situated on 27th street and 10th ave. The field is big enough for two games to run simultaneously with plenty of room to spare between them. The atmosphere around the pitch is incredibly calm and relaxed. Showing up to play soccer here on a sunny weekend afternoon or a breezy weekday evening is one of the most calming feelings I can describe.
The park boasts plenty of shade to rest in on hot days if you're looking to relax a little between subs, or even games. It’s an upper-tier field and space in every measure in one of the best neighborhoods in the city.
The Neighborhood:
Once you step off the pitch, you’re smack dab in the middle of Chelsea which is chock full of bars and restaurants to carry over the good times with your teammates. It’s worth mentioning that simply walking around the neighborhood full of quiet brownstone lined streets is a gratifying experience.
Porchlight: This is where you should go if you’re looking for something a little bit more. Owned by Danny Meyer, it’s an excellent bar with a relaxed atmosphere serving great, custom cocktails alongside a variety of beer and stellar bites. It’s situated just a block away on 11th avenue and 28th street and has a ton of outdoor space.
Porchlight
Billymark’s West: Billymark’s is the kind of dive that sticks out like a piece of lettuce in your teeth and I love every bit of it. Billymark's comes equipped with cheap drinks, a jukebox, a pool table, and darts. This one story, bright blue box of an establishment is just one block from the field, so if you’re looking for a dive near the field, this is the one.
Billymarks’s West
Frying Pan: The Frying Pan docked in NYC in 1989, and has been a highlight of the Hudson ever since. This outdoor bar located on a docked boat in the Hudson has excellent oysters, fries, and tons of drinks. If you’re playing in the summer, this is a perfect spot for you and your team to sit back, enjoy the sun and each other's company. What more could you want?
The Frying Pan
The Chelsea Market and The High-line: are also only two blocks away from the field. While they are fairly tourist-ridden, they are that way for good reason. They’re both really nice places to go. Don’t be a New Yorker who complains about tourist traps and avoids them out of spite. Do them once, and then complain about them and avoid them out of spite like the rest of us.
The Highline
Directions:
Train: The closest subway station to the field is 23rd, where both the C and E trains stop. Below that, you can take the L to 8th avenue and you'll only be a short walk from the field. If you're coming from Queens, it's much the same except take the 7 all the way West, and then either walk or transfer to the C/E.
Bike: If you’re biking, there’s plenty of room to keep your bike safely near/on the fields and there is a CitiBike station just on the corner of 27th and 10th right next to the field.
Bus: As far as buses go, the M11 stops on both sides of the field, on 10th ave (going uptown) and on 9th ave (going downtown).
Thanks for listening.
- James
Get Kicking!
As always, we'd love any feedback you have about the fields, how to get there, or any hidden gems in the area. We promise to keep your secrets safe within our email blasts.
Neighborhood Spotlight: Canal Street Mini-Field
Hey Footy Family,
Chinatown is one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in New York City for so many reasons. One of them that you might not be aware of is that it's home to a ton of soccer fields, a string of which are all within the same 5 blocks of each other and where NYC Footy happens to hosts both games and Better Player practices nearly every day of the week. So if you live downtown, or it's an easy bike ride over the bridge for you, or just want to start playing soccer in one of the most energetic neighborhoods in New York, you should definitely check out the the Canal Street Mini and Footy's many fields in Chinatown.
Up next: Canal Street Mini Field
NYC Footy at Canal Street Mini
The Field:
The Canal Street Mini Field is a part of the Sara D. Roosevelt Park, a long park that runs down Chrystie St. This field is the furthest South in the park, a stones throw from the the Manhattan bridge.
Although the title says ‘Mini’, there's plenty of space for regular sized 6v6 soccer games. As is true with most fields inside of the Sara D. Roosevelt Park, the Canal Street Field is covered in new, clean turf with a small running track that encircles the area.
The field looks absolutely beautiful during the day when the sun shines down on it. It is one of the most New York feelings to be playing soccer inside of a serene park, flanked by tall trees, while at the same time being situated right inside all of the hustle and bustle of both Canal St and the Manhattan Bridge.
The Neighborhood:
169 Bar: The even eclectic and inviting 169 Bar is a dive that has been around for over 100 years in downtown New York City. Throughout all that, it's retained a fun, casual atmosphere where you can go, hang out with friends underneath a mermaid and a taxidermy T-Rex head. They've got all of what you could want in terms fo drinks, outdoor space, a smattering of quick and easy bar food, and a pool table to boot.
169 Bar
Clandestino: A low key bar with dim lights that makes one of the best Pimm's Cups in the city. Just a two block walk from the field, this is a great choice for you and your team as it's got a wonderful, casual atmosphere, outdoor space in the front of the bar, and plenty of bites (cheese), beers, and cocktails to choose from.
Clandestino
Apotheke: This downstairs cocktail bar is by no means your typical after game saloon, but I'd be remiss if I didn't at least bring it up. They have truly amazing cocktails as well as very kind and knowledgable staff. If you do go, maybe after a change of clothes and a quick shower, look for a bartender named Nik and ask him about his time as a soccer player on the Sarah Lawrence soccer team. You'll be treated to some excellent stories and will have made a friend for the evening to boot.
Apotheke
Rochelle's: Rochelle's is a whiskey bar just a little ways up Chrystie street. Given the fact that there are 4 or 5 soccer fields within five blocks of the bar, you can usually find one or two other teams hanging out there and is a great way to meet players from other teams, even if they're not from Footy. The bar has a really nice large space, tall windows that open up to let in the cool summer air, and plenty of choice libations to go around.
Rochelle’s
To cap it off, there are a nearly infinite number of bars and Dim Sum restaurants to try in the area around the field as well as a shockingly high number of ice cream parlors, of which I'd recommend the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. If you don't like what you see above, take your time and explore!
Fun Fact: Manhattan's Chinatown is one of nine different Chinatown's within the city of New York and has the largest Chinese American population (nearly 600,000) in the country.
Train: The closest station to the field is the Grand St stop, where the B and D trains top. Following that is the Bowery stop, where the J and Z trains stop and at East Broadway, you can find the F train. If none of these work for you, nearly every single line stops along Canal St. which runs right into the field and makes commuting from anywhere fairly simple.
Bike: If you’re biking to the field, there is a bike path that runs right up into the field, the same one that extends into Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge. There are also a number of Citibike stations on either side of the park.
Bus: If you prefer the bus, both the M15 and the M21 stop at the North end of the park, so all you have to do is get off at the E Houston/Forsyth St stop and then walk to the South end of the park.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Get Kicking!
As always, we'd love any feedback you have about the fields, how to get there, or any hidden gems in the area. We promise to keep your secrets safe within our email blasts.
Neighborhood Spotlight: Pier 40
Hey Footy Family,
If you've spent any significant time playing pickup soccer in NYC, you've almost certainly played at Pier 40. It's one of the largest single soccer areas outside of Randalls Island, and it's where we host numerous NYC Footy leagues and our Better Player programs. If you haven't found a field yet, or you just want to check out somewhere new, Pier 40 is one of NYC's tried and true locations for soccer.
Up next: Pier 40
NYC Footy at Pier 40
The Field:
As mentioned already, anyone who has played soccer in New York City is probably already familiar with Pier 40, which is one of the mainstays of not only the Footy community, but also of the city itself. It’s home to the most active pickup community in the city. Day or night, rain or shine, somebody will be here looking to play.
The facility has fields on two separate floors, both on the roof and on the ground floor, each covered in turf. The downstairs field is gigantic, with enough space for 6, even 8 games to run at any given time. The upstairs, while only large enough for two games to run at the same time (tragic I know), looks directly into the forest of skyscrapers that make up downtown Manhattan, making it a particularly cool place to play at night. Just make sure you’re not enjoying the view too much during the game.
If you're playing anytime other than the summer, I'd advise you to bring that extra layer to the field as it’s located over the water and can get a little windy.
The Neighborhood:
Pier 40 is wedged right in between Soho and the West Village, so there are effectively a möbius strip of bars to choose from.
Houston Hall: located just three blocks directly away from the field on W Houston street. The space, like Pier 40, is massive, with incredibly high ceilings, and very long tables where you'll find plenty of room for you and your teammates.
Houston Hall
The Village Tavern: is another neighborhood staple, and is just a few blocks further North of the field. It's a classic Irish pub, with a good selection of beers and drinks, solid bar food, a great staff that's well accustomed to soccer players trodding in, and to top it off they serve goldfish at the bar instead of bar nuts and if you're not a fan of that I'm not sure we can be friends.
The Village Tavern
The Ear Inn: If you're a history buff, this is a must see. The bar has been around since the 1817 in one form or another, at first selling home brewed beer and corn whiskey. Over the years, the site has been a smugglers den, brothel, doctors office and boarding house, survived prohibition, and all without a name, simply being known as "The Green Door". Now, the bar serves libations to regulars and visitors alike as live music plays in the background.
Ear Inn
Just a little East from the field you’ll enter NYU territory, where there are bars, comedy clubs, jazz clubs, and Washington Square Park, so rest assured if none of these bars were to your liking, just keep walking straight you’ll find something to do.
Fun Fact: The Ear Inn is named so because the two owners wanted to avoid a lengthy inspection of the signage by the landmark commission. To do that, they simply taped over the round parts of the "B" in their neon "Bar" sign so that it reads "Ear" instead, officially named the bar The Ear Inn, and the rest is history. Don't ask me why that worked or why they cared, but they did and so did their plan.
Directions:
Trains: There are a few trains in the near vicinity. The closest station is the Houston St station, where both the 1 and 2 trains stop. After that, your best be is W 4th St/Washington Sq, which you can get to using the A, B, C, D, E, F, and M trains.
Bike: If you’re biking the location is fairly convenient as the bike path that runs along the outside of Manhattan runs right in front of the field. If you use Citibike, there are stations both along W Houston St and just South of the fields along the promenade.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Get Kicking!
As always, we'd love any feedback you have about the fields, how to get there, or any hidden gems in the area. We promise to keep your secrets safe within our email blasts.
Neighborhood Spotlight: Marx Brothers Playground UES
Hey Footy Family,
Groucho Marx once said, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member", but we at NYC Footy are happy to welcome all the exceptional, wonderful, and weird folks from everywhere in the city.
If you live uptown in Manhattan, first, I'm so sorry for your rent, and second make sure you take a look at the Marx Brothers Playground where we host Footy leagues as well as our Better Player program year round.
Up next: Marx Brothers Playground
NYC Footy at Marx Brothers Playground
The Field:
The Marx Brothers Park is located in a giant plot of greenery on 96th street and 2nd ave. The field has everything you’ll need: well maintained, even turf, good equipment, and as I mentioned, lots of space.
The field is situated on the Upper East Side, it’s far enough East that it’s away from the high-rises that occupy the area, instead opening up toward the East River and panorama of sun and sky that that entails. If you're playing in the Winter, or even in the early Spring or late Fall, I recommend long sleeves and some gloves as the field is right across from the river.
The Neighborhood:
The Painted Lady Saloon: Located less than a block from the field, the Painted Lady is a great place to roll into after a win or loss. Ties are required to head elsewhere, it's just the rules. It’s an easy bar with plenty of space, good food, solid drinks, and a super friendly atmosphere.
Painted Lady Saloon
Merrion Square Pub: A brick wall bar with good outdoor space for warm summer evenings, burgers, wings, and a solid craft beer selection for you and your team. No muss, no fuss, plenty of specials and a pool table in the back. It's also caddy corner from The Painted Lady, so if you're looking to play hard to get, maybe pop between the two of them and see which one you like best.
Merrion Square Pub
Reif’s Bar: Reif's has been around since 1942, so rest assured they know what they're doing. They've got darts, pool and plenty of patio space in the back. If you're looking for a friendly spot to post up with your friends, either in the sun or gathered round the green felt, Reif's is the perfect choice.
Reif’s Bar
If none of these are to your liking, there are a half a dozen gastropubs all within a block of each other on 3rd avenue around 95th street, so if you mosey up there you’ll be sure to find something.
Fun Fact: The field is named after the Marx Brothers because the family (all five brothers and their two parents) grew up only a few blocks away on 93rd and Lexington.
Directions:
Train: The Q train stops at 96th street, right across from the field. The 6 train is also incredibly close, stopping only two blocks away from the field on 96th and Lexington.
Bike: The 1st avenue bike path runs right into the field making it incredibly convenient to cycle to. If you’re using a CitiBike, there’s a station less than a block away from the field on 2nd avenue.
Bus: The M15, both the express and local, stops just a block away from the field on 1st and 97th street. And if you're coming from uptown. the M96 stops just one block over on 2nd and 96th.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Get Kicking!
As always, we'd love any feedback you have about the fields, how to get there, or any hidden gems in the area. We promise to keep your secrets safe within our email blasts.
Neighborhood Spotlight: Octagon Field
Hey Footy Family,
Most New Yorkers know Roosevelt Island as "that place where tourists go to ride the gondola", but few know that it's home to one of the nicest fields in the city. Secluded, beautiful, and surprisingly easy to access, let's discover why NYC Footy's leagues on Roosevelt Island should have your attention.
Up next: Roosevelt Island's Octagon Field
Roosevelt Island’s Octagon Field
The Field:
The Octagon Field is a gem hidden in plain sight. Renovated just before Covid, the field has stayed entirely pristine during the pandemic and since it's situated on Roosevelt Island. Since it doesn't get a lot of foot traffic, it will stay that way for a long time.
Expect a well-kept, clean field, clear painted lines, well maintained equipment, and great lighting for evening play. It’s everything you’d want in a field.
There is also an uncanny, captivating feeling afforded to anyone playing here as the field is at once surrounded by a low panorama of open space in one direction, and the stunning Manhattan midtown skyline in the other. I cannot overstate how beautiful this field is and how excellent it is to play here, nor recommend it highly enough.
The Neighborhood:
The Jeffery is an old favorite of mine that you can find heading back into Manhattan, just across the corner from the gondola. It has hosts two bars, at one a large, local, and ever-changing beer list, while the other is made specifically for custom cocktails. They have an excellent array food, and a staff that just puts it a cut above. As welcoming as it is laudable, there’s plenty of room either inside or in the backyard for you and your teammates to relax after your game.
The Jeffery
Granny Annie’s should be the first bar on your list when leaving your game on the island. Only a quick five minute walk from the field (and one of only a handful of bars on the island), they boast a wide selection of drinks, including their own home brew, fish and chips, bangers and mash, and every kind of bar food your heart desires.
Granny Annie’s
"Fun" Fact: Roosevelt Island is home to not one, but two hospitals that have at one point burned down. The ruins of the Small Pox Hospital, the first hospital in the country dedicated to the treatment of the disease, remain standing near the Southern tip of the island in all their stygian beauty. To the North, The Octagon, the last remaining part of the Metropolitan Hospital that has long since vanished from the island, has been repurposed as the entrance to two apartment buildings. Both of these site can still be visited today.
Directions:
Transportation/Directions: One might think that the field is difficult to get to, but the city has gone to great pains to make Roosevelt Island very accessible.
Subway: The F Train, which runs through South Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, stops on the island at the Roosevelt Island Station, making it easily accessible for subway commuters.
Gondola: The most well known way to get there is to take the gondola (The Roosevelt Island Tramway) on East 60th street. The gondola serves daily commuters to and from the island everyday and is accessible with a metro card.
Bus: If you’d like to take the Bus, the Q102 runs from Queens into Roosevelt Island via the Roosevelt Island Bridge, connecting the island to Queens.
Bike/Foot: If you’d like to bike or walk to the field, the Roosevelt Island Bridge connects the island and Queens and puts you within 100 yards of the field. There are CitiBike stations on the island and on both ends of the Roosevelt Island Bridge.
Boat: You can also take the Ferry to Roosevelt Island. Look for the Astoria Line, which makes stops all across Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. The ferry often runs a lot faster than the subway and affords you a great view of the city instead of forcing you to play eye-contact chicken with strangers on the subway. You can even buy wine on the boat, just don't fall overboard.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Neighborhood Spotlight: Glover Cleveland Park
Hey Footy Family,
Up next in our weekly field feature is one of NYC Footy's staple fields in Queens, Grover Cleveland Park. If you live in Queens, Brooklyn, or work in midtown, this is one of the best spots for your afternoon and weekend games.
Up next: Grover Cleveland Park
NYC Footy at Grover Cleveland Park
The Field:
The Grover Cleveland Park is a beautiful, recently renovated, turf field right on the border between Bushwick and Ridgewood (not to be confused with the Grover Cleveland Athletic Field, which is also nearby).
The park itself is much larger than just the soccer fields, and a lot of effort has gone into maintaining the space as a calm, serene environment and it shows when you walk onto the field. The park is also one of the furthest east fields that Footy acquires permits for, making it a second home for a lot of Queens and Brooklynites who are a part of the footy family, so expect a particularly warm and welcoming environment when you arrive here for games.
The Neighborhood:
The Rookery
The Rookery Bar, is one of my favorite spots in Bushwick. It spans the spectrum of vibes, fitting everyone wearing cleats or collars, pennies or penny loafers, and everything in between. The interior is well decorated, with a large U shaped bar, booths both inside and out, and a few sets of Connect 4, Battleship, and Uno floating around the establishment as well as a foosball table. It's got great post game food and a wide selection of drinks. Put it down as a must visit.
Windjammer
Windjammer is your closest choice to the field, just four blocks away on Grandview Ave. If you're looking for an easy drink in a relaxed environment with a pool table that dabbles in karaoke, this is your spot. It’s a solid, laid back corner bar spot that’s guaranteed to entertain.
Echo Bravo
Echo Bravo is few blocks away from The Rookery and is perfect for larger groups. They've got tons of outdoor space on their patio, excellent wings, and even shuffle board for everyone who, like me, is 30 going on 75.
Beyond that, just walk South from the field on either Starr or Troutman street. Within five blocks, you’ll be smack dab in the middle of a cluster of about 15 bars, 4 food trucks, artichoke pizza, and one incredible halal stand. You are also near two very fairly well known and celebrated venues in Elsewhere and House of Yes, just maybe grab a shower and an extra footy jersey to change into before you go in.
Fun Fact: Queens is the single most diverse county in the entire United States, with over 130+ languages spoken. A beautiful microcosm of that diversity plays out in Ridgewood, where the two largest demographic populations are the Hispanic/Latinx and Polish communities that call Ridgewood home.
Directions:
Train: Your best bets are the L and the M. If you’re taking the L train, you’ll want to get off at either Jefferson Street or Dekalb Ave and then it’s a short walk. If you’re taking the M train, take it to the Forest Av stop and then again, its just a short walk from there.
Bike: As per usual, the field is very bike friendly with a Citibike station right in front of the pitch.
Bus: The Q54 runs all along Metropolitan Ave on the North side of the park and runs deep into Williamsburg and far into Queens. You also have the B38 bringing you from South Brooklyn up to the field.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Get Kicking!
As always, we'd love any feedback you have about the fields, how to get there, or any hidden gems in the area. We promise to keep your secrets safe within our email blasts.
Neighborhood Spotlight: Gantry Park In LIC
Hey Footy Family,
In this week's spotlight, we focus on the second ever location NYC Footy hosted leagues: the iconic (at least for us) Gantry park field in Long Island City.
👉 Reminder: Our biggest ever early bird expires Tuesday for all summer leagues (including LIC). 👈
We also hosted one of our first ever tournaments at this field about 10 years ago (our one and only "tech tournament"). It's located snug in the middle of residential housing, with access to bars and even a brewery nearby. It's fits two fields with a comfortable 7v7 split and, before or after your game, access to the unique views of the east river.
[The registration page for LIC summer can be found here]
Next Up: Gantry Park in Long Island City
The Field:
Footy Players at Gantry Park
The Gantry Park field (AKA the Queens West Sports Field) is in a gorgeous location right along the East River in Queens. There’s plenty of room around the field for everyone to safely store their stuff, and the field catches a fair bit of sun, so bring sunscreen (if you’re an adult and you get sunburnt it’s only your fault). Goalies, it’s not a terrible idea to bring a hat.
This gem of a field is in a prime location in LIC so you’ll find people playing soccer there at almost every hour of the day, especially in the summer. If you’re itching for some practice outside of your NYC Footy games, you should sign up for our BetterPlayer program which has practices all around the city every day of the week. Otherwise, Gantry Park is a great place to show up to if you just want some casual futbol fun.
The Neighborhood:
LIC Bar
LIC Bar is the go to bar from the field for post-game drinks. If you owe someone a drink on the other team for getting nut-megged, or you just want to get to know more of the Footy crowd, this is the spot. There’s a lot of outdoor space, cheap beer, and they don’t mind if you order outside food to the bar. The regular bartender happens to be a big Mets fan, so if you come with the right gear you might get served quicker. Just don’t mention John Rocker, The Phillies, or the 2000 Subway Series.
Skinny’s Cantina in LIC
Skinny’s Cantina is a Mexican joint one block from the field with dangerously good frozen margaritas, great table food, and a friendly staff that will help you drink yourself under the table if you stay there overlong. If you’re looking for cold drinks on a warm night with a view of the water and the midtown skyline, look no further.
The Gutter in LIC
The Gutter, if you haven't already visited or heard of it already, is a bar with an eight lane bowling alley in the back. Apart from the alleys, where you can drink white russians and live out your very own Lebowski fever dream, they have plenty of space up front, a lengthy, shifting beer list, and sell a dam good hot dog. Being only two blocks away from the field this is a great place to keep the fun going.
Fun Fact: Hunter's Point Park, right next to the field, is built to help withstand the overflowing waters of the East River in the event of a hurricane. It also features man-made marshland along the riverside, built as part of one of the cities Green Urban renovation initiatives.
Directions:
Subway: The field is incredibly accessible by subway, with the 7, G, E, and M trains all stopping within 5 blocks of the field.
Bike: Biking to the field is easy if you’re coming from Queens and Brooklyn. Coming from Manhattan is a little more arduous, but if you want that extra workout from biking over the bridge, bless you. There’s a Citibike station and bike racks to lock your bike right next to the field.
Boat: The Hunter’s Point Ferry Terminal is only a short walk away from the field and is a great way to move about the city that a lot of people don’t take advantage of. It's easily as fast as the subway, if not faster if you're coming from the right place. You can grab Ferries to the field all along the East River from both Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Thanks for listening.
- James
Get Kicking!
As always, we'd love any feedback you have about the fields, how to get there, or any hidden gems in the area. We promise to keep your secrets safe within our email blasts.