{"id":342833,"date":"2026-09-10T13:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/342833\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T13:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T13:44:08","slug":"mamdani-invites-new-yorkers-to-sleep-under-the-stars-at-the-unisphere-in-flushing-meadows-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/342833\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani invites New Yorkers to sleep under the stars at the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"group\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Urban Park Rangers in Queens.<\/p>\n

Photo by Daniel Avila\/NYC Parks<\/p>\n

A first-ever overnight family camping experience at Flushing Meadows Corona Park<\/a> will give 200 New Yorkers the chance to camp beneath an iconic Queens landmark, the NYC Parks Department and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Thursday.<\/p>\n

There will be two new \u201cspecial-edition overnight camping experiences\u201d at the Unisphere in the iconic park, located near the Grand Central Parkway and Van Wyck Expressway, \u00a0on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9. The experiences will allow 200 New Yorkers to spend a night under the stars at one of the city\u2019s most recognizable landmarks \u2014 for free.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cS\u2019mores just got even sweeter in New York City,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cThere\u2019s\u00a0no better way to cap off an incredible\u00a0summer than by\u00a0gathering around the campfire, looking up at the\u00a0stars\u00a0and making memories with our neighbors. This fall,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0bringing that experience to the heart of Queens during this special edition of our beloved family camping program. I hope families across the city take the chance to join us and experience our parks in a whole new way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to NYC Parks officials, each evening will begin with \u201cicebreaker activities\u201d before campers pitch their tents and gather\u00a0for dinner. Throughout the night, participants\u00a0will join Urban Park\u00a0Rangers for a\u00a0night hike and wildlife viewing<\/a>, nature games,\u00a0hear stories around the campfire, make\u00a0s\u2019mores\u00a0and\u00a0take part in other\u00a0activities.<\/p>\n

NYC Parks said it will provide tents and sleeping bags for all campers. Sleeping bags can be taken home at the end of the program. Dinner and breakfast options will be available for purchase from a food truck, and families are \u201cwelcome to bring their own food and snacks,\u201d the department said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City is home to some of the most extraordinary parks and landmarks in the world, and the Unisphere offers an unforgettable backdrop for an outdoor adventure,\u201d NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura said. \u201cWith our Urban Park Rangers, we\u2019re giving New Yorkers the chance to experience Flushing Meadows Corona Park in a whole new way \u2014 under the stars, around a campfire, and alongside their neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The overnights build on the success of the NYC Parks\u2019 Urban Park Rangers\u2019 long-running Family Camping<\/a> series, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The overnight events on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9 can accommodate 100 campers each. Participants will be chosen through an online lottery, which is open Sept. 10 through Sept. 13. New Yorkers can enter the lottery through the NYC Parks website at, and find out more information, at nycgovparks.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Urban Park Rangers in Queens. Photo by Daniel Avila\/NYC Parks A first-ever overnight family camping experience at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[128539,2100,1445,9,24,63,22458,122,124,123,128540,60696],"class_list":["post-342833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-camping-in-nyc","tag-flushing-meadows-corona-park","tag-mamdani","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-parks","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-smores","tag-unisphere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}