One year after the ribbon was cut, the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer has settled into its role as a true all-seasons hangout at the north end of Central Park. The revamped pool, ice rink and new green have drawn more than 170,000 visitors in the first year and hosted tens of thousands of program participants. For Harlem neighbors and day-trippers alike, the overhaul has reshaped how people actually use and move through the park's northern landscape.
According to the Central Park Conservancy, the Davis Center is the result of a $160 million remake of the aging Lasker Rink and Pool that opened to the public on April 26, 2025. The city kicked in $60 million, while the Conservancy raised the rest. Designers tucked the building into the existing topography and added a green roof, boardwalks and year-round program space. Local coverage of opening day included Davis Center opens, reflecting the early buzz around the project.
As reported by CBS News New York, the center logged roughly 173,000 visitors in its first year and sold more than 40,500 tickets for public skating, lessons and clinics during the ice season. The outlet also highlighted that public skate pricing averages about $10 during peak hours, or roughly half the going rate at popular Midtown rinks. Those numbers suggest the new venue did not need much time to find its crowd.
How The Site Flips From Pool To Rink
The Davis Center’s centerpiece is a field that changes personality with the seasons. In summer it becomes the Gottesman Pool, and in winter it converts into an ice rink, using an engineered riser system to switch functions. According to the Davis Center’s site, the Gottesman Pool is slated to operate from June 27 through September 13, 2026, and can host up to 1,000 swimmers at a time. NYC Parks runs the pool itself and will offer free and Learn-to-Swim programming, while the Conservancy handles spring and fall activities on the Harlem Oval.
Programs And Partnerships
Programming partners have kept the place busy. The Conservancy reports more than 65,000 pool visits and upward of 40,000 rink participants during the inaugural season, on top of dozens of school field trips and community workshops. In a one-year press release, the Central Park Conservancy described the Davis Center as both a recreational hub and a neighborhood “living room,” with a mix of low-cost and free events across the calendar. Organizers say those collaborations are already turning once-a-season visitors into regulars.
Neighbors Applaud - And Point Out Small Fixes
On the ground, staff say there is still room to grow public awareness. "those who knew about the facility only knew it was coming because they passed during construction," Stormy McNair, the Conservancy’s manager of programming partnerships, told CBS News New York. At the same time, cycling advocates have flagged some nuts-and-bolts issues. Streetsblog reported that bike racks near the northern entrance were poorly sited at opening and that the Conservancy has pledged to study adding and improving bicycle parking. The blend of praise and critiques suggests there are still operational details to fine-tune.
Design Honors And What's Next
Design circles have taken notice as well. The Davis Center received an Architecture Honor in AIA New York’s 2026 design awards, recognition for the way the project weaves building and landscape together. AIA New York listed the facility among its top honorees that year. Looking ahead, officials say the focus will stay on refining programming and access as the center settles into a routine and continues to respond to community feedback.
For now, the Davis Center stands as a highly visible example of how long-planned park investments can reshape the way surrounding neighborhoods use Central Park, even as smaller fixes, from bike parking to ongoing outreach, are still being worked through.
