Herbert Von King Park

📍 Herbert Von King was my local park of choice while I was living in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NY. The park provides a playground, an amphitheater, and a large grass area which becomes a popular destination in the warmer seasons. I recommend this park for photography. ★★★★★

Good turn out for the fat beats 30 anniversary summer stage show. There's always a decent lineup of events at the park for all to enjoy . Check online for all the upcoming event

Park is very homey, awesome community with a baseball field right on it! Love it. ❤️

Community-oriented park with lots of events. There are CITI bikes around so you can start riding here and hang out in the neighborhood. The park has rest rooms and nice sitting areas. It is also clean.

Nice park with lots of playground space and places for dogs to roam. Small outdoor gym area and some sport courts for things like handball. About a half mile in perimeter length, so reasonable for walking or jogging around, and it's all flat with no hills. City bike accessible with a small station at the northwest corner. Theres also a small amphitheater that's nice for the occasional event.

Lovely park, lovely people, but the off-leash dog people are out of control! I say this as a crazy Dog Mom with a rescue pitbull that I keep on a leash at all times. There’s a great gated dog park (both small and large dog areas), so it sucks that people take over the big lawn area with loose pups. We gotta work on our park manners, y’all! Two playgrounds keep it kid-friendly, an open theater, and a baseball field that’s closed off during winter. Let’s keep it clean and keep it leashed!

It's a wonderful Community park while taking care and a presence right across the street. You can take your kids there.Have picnic's birthdays gatherings. And you can get a workout as well in the park and listen to beautiful also play sports and they have a garden

Had a great weekend at the Herbert Von King Park. It is very spacious with lots of areas for picnics and for large gatherings/celebrations of any kind. Separate grassy area to lay out on with your blankets or to do yoga. You can also enjoy local music and dancing. And even though there is an area for small/ large dogs, they don't just stay there, they roam all over with their humans. So if you're allergic or just don't like a lot of dogs, this is not the park for you to visit. The absolute worst part of the entire park are the restrooms. I felt like I was gonna catch a disease by walking in there. It's extremely filthy....the toilets, floors, sinks all beyond disgusting. Thankfully the park is kept up really good despite being very busy all the time.

Great park. Lots of great pits to stand in. Best part is the dogs though they may be very dirty depending on the weather...so don't get too close

I loved my experience at this park. It was, by no means, remotely close to the physical quality of a Central Park or Prospect, but there was a beautiful sense of community here that was special. My friend organized a great kickball game that brought people together and there just happened to be a really big cookout going on right next to us with great tunes playing, along with some pop up shops happening as well, all contributing to such great wholesome vibes.

This place takes me back. My parents bought me here as a child, I can still feel the wind moving past my face as my father pushed me in the swings and I have vivid memories dancing on the stage throughout the amphitheater with my friends as a teenager. Wow what great memories! Von King Park once known as Tompkins Park hasn't changed much, however there is now a new dog park that is popular among dog owners and a well manicured baseball diamond is home to a local little league baseball team. I really enjoy the community feel of this park, this is Bed-Stuy. There is am amphitheater and the cultural arts center, there is only one half court basketball court and handball courts in the park. Benches and tables for checkers and chess are lined through the various paths for your convenience throughout the park and there's a small garden at one of the entrances. This park is surrounded by tall trees, cool shade on warm summer days, and pristine historical brownstones. Come visit and make your own memories.

I love this tree covered expansive park in the middle of Bed Stuy. It has a very Brooklyn energy that can't really be put into words and is a nice place to grab a respite after walking around the neighborhood especially during the spring/summer.

After the COVID-19 pandemic began and I moved to northern Bedford-Stuyvesant, I've been trying to find more ways that my partner and I can get outdoors. We purchased longboards and started scouring the internet for more to do outdoors. Herbert Von King Park is nearby our new apartment building and we frequently visit it due to its proximity, size, and various activities that take place! We attended Meditating for Black Lives a blm meditation session for the last month and are planning on attending Sunday reiki sessions! HVKP is the perfect place in Bed-Stuy to get some fresh air and feel connected!

This is one of my favorite parks in Brooklyn. The layout is funky and curvy, and there are plenty of spots to just chill out by yourself, or with a loved one, or with your pet. I love that the park is used heavily by kids, adults, and the neighborhood on a whole, especially in the summer weekends - there are often at least five different celebrations happening at once! I come to run here sometimes as well, mostly the outer perimeter, but also at times the windy inside. I'll do pull-ups here too, and dips as well. This park is great for all that. The only part I personally don't care for the dog park area, but that's mainly because people don't know (or care) how to act with their dogs (can you tell how much this irks me?!?). A lot of films have shot here lately, especially near the center along the temporarily closed Cultural Arts Center ,and the amphitheater, where I've seen a few great plays over the years. These film productions though often passing themselves off as other neighborhoods, and I totally get that, but this is Bed-Stuy, so be authentic and represent!

What a lovely park! It's of a pretty decent size with plenty of walking space, adjacent basketball courts, and plenty of benches to sit on. I went on a day that it was completely snowed in and it was positively beautiful. This really is one of the nicest parks in the area in my opinion (obviously not comparable to bigger parks like Prospect and Fort Greene, but for a smaller neighborhood park I think it's quite nice).

The description should probably mention it is one of only a handful of parks designed by Olmstead (who also designed Prospect Park and Central Park among others). These days I can't imagine what we would do without it. The park is large enough to allow social distancing, has a neighborhood feel, we just love it! P.S. here's hoping they'll renovate that funky retro stage at some point. Until then it's still fun to watch all the Pratt kids making films there. Also, if you are new to the park, a must see is the old Magnolia tree on Lafayette (the southern corner of the park). That tree dates from mid 19th century and is the one and only "living" horticultural object with a historical landmark status in NYC. P.S.2 Although I've been going there nearly every week for a couple of years now, I had never witnessed aggressive dog behavior or pit bulls. Nevertheless, the angry pit bull review is quite hilarious, check it out below!

Bring your dog here at its own risk. People either seem to make up their own rules for how the two separate sections work and feel entitled to take their huge, unruly, dangerous dogs into one park and not let other people in. OR they just let their anti-social dog run free amongst the others and let them start fights. Today, I couldn't even get into one of the park sections because a pitbull mix came barging out of it when I tried to enter and started gnawing uncontrollably at my dog's leash. It took the owner way too long to notice what was going on and intervene. They didn't even apologize or try to verbally correct the dog. It shouldn't be that difficult to pay attention to what your dog is doing. So I tried the other park only to be stopped by the woman inside and her huge mastiff pitbull mix. "He's not friendly." So that means you can commandeer the entire park as your own? This isn't a private lawn for you and your dog. It's a public dog park. And if your dog is a danger to others, this isn't the place for you. "Where am I supposed to exercise him then?" Not my problem, and something you should've considered before choosing a dog like that especially considering the city you live in. I've been there several other times where I've seen one guy in particular with some sort of pitbull mix that ALWAYS starts fights with other dogs (once with my dog, who is very small) for no reason and afterward the guy *doesn't leave.* He just hangs around until the cycle repeats itself. I've learned to look out for him before going in. This dog park is awful. Or, rather, the owners that come here are awful. Thanks for putting our pets in danger and for ruining it for the rest of us.

I attended "Everyday People" at the Herbert Von King Park amphitheater and it was the perfect venue to accommodate dance performances and a DJ. The crowd had a great vibe and I look forward to attending other events there. However, once the sun set, the lighting in the park was poor and I felt like there was a mad rush to leave. There needs to be more working lamp posts. More lighting would increase park goers sense of safety after dark.

Great neighborhood park with lots of features -- basketball/handball, baseball field, playgrounds, a stage for performance, dog runs, open fields and benches, etc. It's bigger than you expect it to be. Also note that there's been some construction there so it's a little hard to get to different sections of it.

I only come here for the dog runs. There are two dog runs but no size limit for either so choose wisely. The bigger run can get pretty hectic at the end of the day when all the humans get home from work to walk their dogs.. My super cute shiba usually doesn't give a crap so I just take him to whichever run has fewer dogs. There are plenty of benches for you to sit on and stare at your phone instead of watching your dog. Park also has playgrounds, stage, lawns and cook-out spots.

I really enjoyed this park and so did much puppy Tonka. It was super clean and there were even staff there cleaning up the leaves . We walked around the whole park to get a feel for the different areas . The dog runs are fairly large which is great. They are dirt & wood chips so keep that in mind if you have a white pup !!! There are plenty of benches, a play ground & stage set up. I think it's a great park for the neighbourhood. There is plenty of street parking around the whole park. Loved it, we will definitely be back.

This dog park has improved a great deal from last year. They recently got a new secure gate at the entrance, which is a major step in the right direction. I like that the park has 2 sides, so if someone wants to focus on fetch with their dog they can hang out on the opposite side. This second side is also good if you have a dog that doesn't get along well with others. Both of my dogs always have a great time here. There are a lot of benches, shady spots, and water bowls. There is no direct running water in the dog area but plenty of water fountains in the park itself. Usually in the summer I bring a water bottle and fill up the silver bowls that are left in the dog park. All of the dog owners that I have encountered are responsible and the dogs well behaved.

This was a nice park and could be again. But now it suffers from overuse and a lack of adequate maintenance. I'm glad to see the lawn restricted to "passive use" (no pets, ball playing, etc.), because it was turning into a dirt field. I've never seen anyone using the baseball field. The amphitheater is not maintained well and is not used much. In the warmer months there are often competing streams of music blasting from the park to the surrounding blocks. The police don't show much interest in addressing this problem, even though there is a precinct station right across the street. In the summer there are sometimes fools zipping around the adjacent streets and crowded sidewalks on ATVs. That is dangerous and needs to stop.

A great play space for city dogs of all shapes and sizes! Could be cleaner, but with a little community support a lot of progress could be made.

This is a nice little park in the heart of Bedstuy, Brooklyn . It offer plenty of shade from the sun from a hot summer day and they also have a lot of events planned for the locals. The one thing I found alarming was the police reward poster for a tip on a murder that occurred recently at the park around 4 am in the morning.

We loved this park and came here all the time until yesterday, when our 4 month old puppy was viciously attacked by an off leash Rottweiler, and later died during surgery in the ER. We were just walking along and he attacked from behind and throttled her. He did not stop until an officer opened fire due to the fact that he seemed only moments from attacking me. It was horrific. Bed Stuy has a problem with abused/neglected fighting dogs, and I thought this was just a wrong place/wrong time thing, but the police officers informed us that it happens all too often around there. You'll also have the experience of people bringing their un-neutered, neglected dogs into the park who act overly aggressive and start fights while their owners completely ignore them and refuse to enforce order or take them away to prevent harm to other dogs. There's a wonderful community of dog people there, but had we known the risks and the outcome of our routine walk and play, we'd obviously never have been there. Additionally, as beautiful as Bed Stuy can be, it can also be very dangerous. This was an experience from which we are reeling, and we just want to get the warning out there to people to remain alert and make sure you have some sort of defense should this happen to you.

Nice family park well kept. Its no Central Park but nice to run and read a book! A few random neighborhood locals, but it's home to everyone.

My puppy loves this place. I don't have anything to compare the dog run to, but I'm happy it's here. My puppy has so fun here, we walk a mile in each direction just to experience the playtime and socialization. This place can be pretty empty during work hours, but that's a good time to play games with your dog and let him have some quiet play time. Otherwise, most people come in the late afternoon, evening during the week and on the weekends. If you have a dog, and live relatively close, definitely check it out.

This part of the park is better as it has grass and tress. The field is really big and separate from the playground. This is a good detail because it can actually be peaceful on this side. They field tends to be pretty clean because it's also a bbq free zone :)

* This review is for the dog run only Potential to be a great dog run simply because if has to large runs. What this dog run has going for it: - Adequate seating - Plenty of shade - Good size runs - Separate large and small dog runs (most use the run closest to Marcy Ave) - Plenty of on-street parking (no meters) What this dog run has going against it: - Dirt/wood chip cover (gets muddy after a good rain) - No dedicated water source for dogs - No poop bags - In adequate fencing (for most of the run) and gates - Not kept up very well This dog run has the potential but some work needs to be done. Add water and fix fencing and gates its a 3 star dog run, add more seating and better ground cover its a 4 star dog run in my opinion. * Others have posted reviews of this dog run on this Herbert Von King Park yelp review page.... that is for the whole park. The cross streets and marker on map are wrong on this page. There is a Hebert Von King Park Dog Run yelp review page now. http://www.yelp.com/biz/herbert-von-king-park-dog-run-bedford-stuyvesant Dog runs/parks I have been to so far: http://www.yelp.com/list/nyc-metro-area-dog-parks-runs-queens-2

Definitely agree with the other one star ratings. The dogs here are very aggressive and their owners do not care at all. Everyone was on the phone while the dogs went crazy.

I was VERY happy to find this dog run because schlepping to Brooklyn Heights isn't really an option. I was somewhat wary because of stories about dangerous dogs. It's big, in fact there are two sections. I was told by some regulars that the section on the left is for socializing and the right is usually for people who want to keep their dogs isolated. I took a look at the latter just to check it out but let my dog loose in the social area. He's a 6 month old puppy but got along fine with all sizes. The owners were pleasant but i definitely felt like the new kid being evaluated by the cool kids. The only drawback is the dirt and woodchip mixture is quite messy. By the time we left my leggings and sneakers were filthy and my puppy was a dusty mess, but it was well worth the fun he had!

I rather grass! My standard white poodle is too WHITE to get covered with dirt and wood chips

my Gov will wheel me hear when I can take the air. Nice open park but lately a lot of Ugly White Professionals have been telling the Gov to stop Breast Feeding Me. They think this sort of Care is the Sickness when the real Sickness is the Scary. Do Not Disobey The Police.

Art Center, Playground and Dog run at this Historic park within gorgeous Bedstuy.

This park isn't anything special, but it's probably the largest park in BedStuy with the most to offer. It has a playground, a dog run, a baseball field, and an amphitheater. A lot of people also barbecue here in the summer, and it seems to have a great community feel to it. It's surrounded by pretty brownstones. It's a relaxing spot to hang out!

Love it here! My dog has never been in a fight. Plus there are two areas. So if u have a questionable behavior wise dog you can take him in he secondary area. Apparently they are trying to improve it as well but my Australian shepherd and I just love it here. And she loves it. We go three times a week at least. Would get a fifth star if they had water fountains for the doggies. They have bowls though. Anyways overall a safe a great place to bring your pup! Clean and way better then Maria Hernandez.

This review is for the dog run... I've had some good, some bad and some horrible experiences at this dog run. I've found that if I come super early in the morning (i.e. the before work crowd) the dogs tend to be nicer and less aggressive. When I come early in the morning (between 6:00-7:30/8:00) folks and their dogs are pretty chill... people are on the benches watching their pups peacefully play with each other. There are dogs of all shapes and sizes at this time, but it seems like the dog co-exist and play peacefully. Around 8:30/9:00 every day the same set of guys come into their park with their large, un-neutered dogs... a few Pitts, a Rottweiler, and a husky-mix. They come every day. They are ALWAYS there. I've tried to come at various times of the day... and they are there. The guys are really nice, and their dogs seem to be fine with each other, but the dogs aren't that great with other dogs, and "play" very rough... and 2 of the dogs are OBSESSED with humping my small pug. Like obsessively... every time we come. If the owners tried to stop them from humping my pug, I'd be ok, but they seem to think it's funny and don't do much... obviously I'm not going to try and remove someone else's un-neutered, testosterone crazed Rottie from my dog. My pug doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body, but he always tries to nip at these dogs and sometimes can get them to stop humping him, and even barking at them and forcing them to get away from him. It seems to tickle the guys to see a pug punk their big dogs.... yes all fun and games until your Rottweiler kills my 17 pound pug. I usually take my dog and leave at this point.... There's a "small dog" section of this park... unfortunately the "small dog" section is generally used to corral dogs that are anti-social (too aggressive to really be around other dogs... Um.. why are you even at the dog park?) Or large female dogs that are in heat.. (again... don't take you're in-heat dog to a dog park full of un-neutered male dogs... WTF). Couple other sub-optimal things... - There are often random kids, with no supervision just wandering around the dog park trying to play with the dogs.. it's really not safe and makes the dog park folks feel like they have to protect these kids. - There are often folks playing fetch with their dogs, usually using one of those fetch tools that allows you to throw, really far, without having to touch a spitty ball. Fine to do this if the small dog run isn't crowded. But it's not really safe for your 80 pound pittbull to be running full speed through a dog park that is full of dogs and people... also bringing toys to a dog park full of marginally socialized un-neutered dogs is a recipe for disaster. I don't go to this park anymore..... unless it's super early in the morning. While nothing super bad has happened to me... I don't trust the other dogs or owners and can't relax when I'm here. It's really a shame because it's the only dog park close to me.

On weekends I like to take my little terrier maltese mix dog named Riley here so he can get some fresh air and hang out in an area that is not my apartment, stoop or sidewalk. This place is about a block from my apartment so it is perfect. Now I have not taken him into the dog run yet, he's actually terrified of 95% of dogs and would most likely cower in a corner whimpering until I took him out. What we do is walk around the park, he gets to see the other dogs on leases and if he wants to be social he is and if not, he is not. The park has many grassed areas where people can sit, some allow dogs, some do not, regardless there are signs in both areas stating if your dog can sit with you there. There is a basketball court, playgrounds, benches, a cultural art center and sprinklers scattered throughout the park for your use. My dog loves running in the sprinklers. The park is very nice and very well kept, everyone hanging out there is friendly and it really is a great part of the Bed Stuy neighborhood. At the same time like every park there are bad things that can and will happen. I've gone before expecting to have a nice relaxing walk with my pup and people were throwing a rager in the park. The worst thing to date that I have seen was these teenage boys decided to pee in plain view on the sidewalk in the park. I mean really guys, you are probably super close to where you live. Just go home and use the bathroom. I mean or the park could get a bathroom, at the same time it isn't a gigantic park that people travel to, it's a neighborhood park, so maybe they don't really need a bathroom after all and the teenagers were just being immature teenagers. Overall I love the park and I probably am going to go hangout there tomorrow.

Very good dog run-- among the better ones I've been to in BK if you ask me. One minor quip: My 13 lb Maltese-ish dog tends to get overwhelmed by the bigger dogs there (if there's a time when small dogs meet up, please contact me!). But the people are great and the dog run itself is in good shape.

I love this park. I go early in the morning to give my 3 month old girl a run. The other owners seem to be responsible and friendly. I have seen many fights probably due to the fact I'm out so early.