Nelson A. Rockefeller Playground

Though built mostly from wood in 1992, this leafy enclave just north of North Cove in Battery Park City gains our vote for most unique play structures. Acting like an ersatz second floor, one of them sports a red fabric grid to bounce on, plus a network of wooden walkways and bridges and ladders and slides. At the southern end is a one-of-a-kind, kid-pedaled carousel that kids never seem to get enough of.