After being closed for more than six months, the Great Lawn in Central Park is open once again.

“We love the park, and we’re glad to have it back,” said Hallen Korn, who was at Central Park Saturday morning.

What You Need To Know

  • The Great Lawn in Central Park reopened Saturday, months after it was damaged and closed off to the public
  • The city closed the lawn earlier than normal last fall after the area sustained extensive damage during the Global Citizen Festival
  • The use of heavy equipment and intense foot traffic mixed with heavy rain falling in Central Park before, during and after last year's festival damaged a large portion of the lawn
  • The festival will return to the Great Lawn for its 12th year on Saturday, Sept. 28

The lawn was closed early after last year’s Global Citizen Festival.

Thousands of concert attendees descended upon Central Park in September and heavy foot traffic mixed with extensive rain damaged the lawn. Global Citizen paid for the restoration work.

“I’m surprised because I thought they were just going to let the fields recover, but they’ve resodded the whole Great Lawn, and it’s plush, it’s beautiful, it’s soft and really, really, really great, great work. It’s really ready to go, so we’re very excited to get the kids back on the ballfield,” said Randal Harris, who was at the park Saturday to coach youth baseball.

Harris, who has been a baseball coach at the Great Lawn for nearly 30 years, says this is the best condition he has seen the Great Lawn in, so he believes some good is coming out of a bad situation.

"We’re so excited. It's actually my daughter’s first game of her softball season, and so we’re so excited it’s open again. It's beautiful. It's refreshing. It's a beautiful day today to be here,” Dominique Robinson told NY1.

While there has been some controversy about holding the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park after last year’s muddy mess, the annual event is once again coming to the Great Lawn this September for the 12th year in a row.

The festival is free and draws in New Yorkers from all five boroughs.

“It doesn’t bother me. I think it’s fun having it," Korn said.

The lineup for this year’s festival in September will be announced in the coming months.

In the meantime, New Yorkers are once again making the most of the large green space. With no signs of its destroyed past, this gem of the city can continue to flourish in the warmer months ahead.