Central Park Rink Closes March 8

The Gottesman Rink is a new addition to Central Park's northern end, having opened for its inaugural season on November 21, 2025. It is part of the newly unveiled Davis Center, a $160 million project designed to provide year-round activities for the Harlem community and all New Yorkers. This facility replaces the former Lasker Rink and Pool, which was known for infrastructure issues and had been a fixture since the mid-1960s. The new center was designed by Susan T. Rodriguez | Architecture • Design and Mitchell Giurgola Architects in collaboration with the Central Park Conservancy. The Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that manages the park, led the project as the capstone of a decades-long effort to revitalize the northern section of the park. The project was funded by $100 million in private donations and $60 million from the City of New York. Following the winter ice skating season, the space will not lie dormant. It is designed to transform into the free Gottesman Pool during the summer months and a public green space called the Harlem Oval for wellness activities in the spring and fall. The rink's programming is managed by the Central Park Conservancy with a focus on community access, offering low-cost admission and partnerships with local organizations like Figure Skating in Harlem and Ice Hockey in Harlem. This community-first approach contrasts with the profit-oriented model of the park's other famous ice rink, Wollman Rink. As the Gottesman Rink closes, the Central Park Conservancy is already looking ahead to its summer programming. The organization is accepting applications through March 30 for local artists to perform at the 2026 Harlem Meer Performance Festival.