I recently moved to NYC and am wondering if people run in central park after dark. During the summer I would run in the park afterwork, but with daylight savings it is dark by 5pm. I normally run for about an hour starting around 6.
central park is dangerous. you should never run in there unless you are in a company of at least 4-5 people
You should be fine. I am female and ran in the park after dark for years and never had had an issue. It probably is a little safer if you skip the north area of the park by the hill as it can be poorly lit. I recall a few years back more than one mugging happened up there, but probably much later than 6 pm. The reservoir I consider to be safe.
This ^^^
As long as you are sensible (e.g. running 7-9pm when others are out, not running at 11pm when the park is “closed”) you’ll be fine. I’m a girl and I often run alone in the dark on winter mornings and evenings. If there are days I feel a little unnerved, I’ll skip the North end of the park and choose a route that keeps me closer to populated areas of the park. No biggie.
the park closes at 1am, actually. I have also seen this one young lady who’s out there running as late as I’m out there cycling (sometimes at 11:30pm).
And anything above 72nd is deserted compared to the area south of 72nd, and there’s no difference between 86th and 106th street, unless if you are using the Northern part as a code word for Harlem. In which case, let whatever socioeconomic predisposition you have guide your decision, but it’s certainly better lit than the Reservoir is.
I couldn’t recall if the park closed at 11 or 1am. Thx for the correction.
As to the rest of your post, I enter the park at 86th so I guess that is my personal delineator between North and South. If I’m alone, I will generally head south, although will occasionally head north. Note, my preference is not a comment on socio-economic factors … there was a woman raped on W91 a couple years ago on her way home from the Park one evening after dark. Plus there was a woman raped in Strawberry Fields this year in broad daylight. These things do influence my behaviour and I try to avoid putting myself in a vulnerable position, while still doing the things I enjoy, e.g. when I lived on W91 I would use either W86 or W96 to get to/from the Park and then take B’way to get to W91 rather than running down W91 from Central Park West to home. Maybe totally unnecessary but it made me feel more comfortable as there is a lot more traffic on W86/W96/B’way than W91. Besides more mileage is a good thing right? 
So yeah, my preference for the bottom end of the Park after dark is based on safety reasons for the simple fact that there are generally more people around, and for the most part there is safety in numbers. For similar reasons, I’m not a fan of the reservoir at night (that was the poster above me). I prefer to stick to the Drives after dark which as you mention are better lit.
Thanks for the helpful replies. I tried to run in park Thursday after work, but it was closed due to the snoe storm. However, while running up Central Park West I was able to see how well lit the park was and I also noticed at least 75 other runners who had were running outside the park due to the closure. Looks like running in the park just afterwork will be fine.
As I am am angry looking fellow, I can get away with running late, but if you are worried about it, just run around the perimeter of the park. 5th ave, 110, CP west, 59th.
FYI.
Stay safe out there!
Running in central park after dark in the winter are my most enjoyable runs. It’s relatively empty, the cool crisp doesn’t smell like baked horse shit, and the snow-covered trees in front of the city skylne are just beautiful.
I’ll leave the safety issues for you to decide. I’m a dude and feel complete safe. I’m not sure what I’d do if I were female, but I do see quite a few females out alone too. Not that this means it’s smart.
My wife and I lived just off Columbus Circle from 2005-2010 and ran/biked in park almost daily. It definitely is empty when you very north of 86th at night (later than 8pm.) I have run the complete loop at all hours of the night without incident. My wife, however, would stick to below the reservoir (not actually on the reservoir as noted in other posts) when dark and never had any problems. She would never run on the bridal paths at night.
I completely agree with safety in numbers. As long as you stay on the main road and below 86th or so (where there are more people) I would think you’d be safe. But of course, it is NYC, so be alert, don’t run with head phones, etc.