Queens Neighborhood Guide

New York City beaches open for the season this Memorial Day weekend despite the damage they sustained during Hurricane Sandy. The Parks Department staff, and sanitation and construction crews have been working nonstop to make sure they are safe and clean, and that the sand is back where it belongs. (In some communities, sand washed up onto residents' front lawns!) This is good news for NYC families because—much as we enjoy hitting the Jersey Shore, Long Island beaches and Fire Island—we're not big fans of renting cars or sitting in traffic.

While it won't quite be business as usual for New York City's beaches this summer, you'll still be able to hop on a subway, bus or ferry to hit the shores. From the "Bronx Rivera" to the iconic Coney Island to the Rockaways, these eight urban seasides offer everything that suburban beaches do except the out-of-town commute.

An amazing state-of-the-art play space has opened up in Long Island City, but it's no run-of-the-mill kiddie gym. Sensory City is a sensory gym and pediatric occupational therapy practice where kids can enjoy a wide variety of stimulating stations including a swing, a ball pit, a play castle and even a zip line.

While Sensory City was specifically designed to help visitors work on their sensory, fine motor, gross motor and communication skills, children of all abilities are welcome and can benefit from the experiences the gym has to offer. My family and I recently dropped by for an open play session, and my kids had a blast. After all, who doesn't love to romp in a ball pit?

There are street fairs and then there are street fairs. We don't mean those random ones that sell irregular socks and fried Oreos; we're talking about true community festivals. Each one is unique and reflects the character of its neighborhood, and many feature rides, performances, activities and food. The hard part, of course, is knowing which ones are which, 'cause while we all love to stock up on cheap socks, we're not going to drag our family across town to do so.

We've gone through the city's list of festivals, street fairs and carnivals for the month of May and picked out our favorites from years past and some new events that sound promising. All of these fests are FREE or just a couple of bucks, and in most cases your dollars go to support a local charity or school, so you can feel good about spending money. In our research, we were bummed to learn that one of annual picks, the Hudson River Pageant, won't be happening this year. But there are 32 other awesome fests to choose from! You can find even more seasonal activities in our Spring Fun Guide.