It’s time to invest in NYC parks
It’s a recurring theme for me, but today I’m going to give my opinion to the five borough presidents in New York City who have agreed to call on Mayor Adams to commit to building on the one million trees planted by his two predecessors. A million trees. They also called on the mayor to deliver on his campaign promise to allocate 1% of the city’s budget to our parks each year. In fiscal 2022, the city’s stimulus inflation budget hit $102.8 billion, with the parks department’s $618 million budget. One percent will be just over $1 billion a year, which will have an immediate and visible impact on the operations and day-to-day maintenance of our park system.
in a New York Times In a report on the Trees and Parks Initiative, Dana Rubinstein observed:
“According to recent figures from The Nature Conservancy, New York now has approximately 7 million trees, or less than one tree per person among its 8.8 million residents. Report. There are about 650,000 trees on the streets, but they are not evenly distributed – just like the park itself. The Trust for Public Land, a conservation group that helps build public parks across the United States, found that low-income New Yorkers and people of color have significantly less available park space than residents of white and wealthy neighborhoods. The allocation of trees follows this pattern to some extent. ”
According to the Rubinstein report, the city has learned a lot from Mike Bloomberg’s Million Trees Project. First, we learned to change tree species and, when planting street trees, avoid tree species with roots that would damage sidewalks. We also ended a law that required cities to obtain permission from neighboring property owners to plant trees. Most of the million trees (750,000) will be planted in the park. Even a casual look at the wooded areas of a city park today can provide evidence of tree loss due to recent storms and chronic poor maintenance. Our park is in desperate need of new trees. Additionally, the effort to plant 250,000 new street trees provides an opportunity to impact communities that have not historically embraced tree planting.
While trees are vital, they are not enough. Cities require capital investments in roads, stairs, fences, playgrounds, ballparks, recreational facilities, restrooms and all other elements of a multitude of physical facilities.According to the website New York City Department of Parks and Recreation:
“NYC Parks manages more than 30,000 acres – 14% of New York City’s – including more than 5,000 individual properties ranging from Coney Island Beach and central Park arrive community garden and green street. We operate more than 800 playground and nearly 1,000 playground1,800 basketball court550 tennis court65 public swimming pool51 Recreational facilities15 nature center14 golf courseand 14 miles beach. We Care 1,200 monument and 23 Historic House Museum. We take care of 600,000 street tree, and another two million in the park. We are New York City’s premier provider of recreational and athletic facilities and programs. We are home to free concerts, world-class sporting events and cultural festivals. ”
according to New York City Architecture Conference, New York City’s capital budget for fiscal 2022 is $17 billion. 8% of it goes to parks and cultural institutions.City Council data on recent park capital spending Report The annual budget is between $600 million and $1.2 billion, but noted that the city has struggled to secure funding. While in fiscal 2019, they were able to commit 86% of the approximately $628 million in capital dollars, in the previous year, the commitment level was only 46.8%.
Anyone watching the city trying to build anything will notice that construction is slow and stagnant. Procurement and design processes are over-regulated and poorly managed. When something new finally opens, it’s usually well-built and well-designed. But it wasn’t long before the once sparkling new thing was poorly maintained and aged earlier than its time. As climate change causes additional damage from more intense storms, the city’s physical infrastructure will require more maintenance than in the past.
While money is a key factor in park improvement, so is management. Most parks do not have dedicated staff, but share maintenance workers who move from park to park, usually within a community board area. While I’m sure this makes sense for some functions, it also requires park-specific staff to build relationships with park users in the community and identify and “own” the needs of a particular park. Years ago, New York City’s parks had such dedicated staff that when I was growing up, we called them “parkees.” These guys lend kids basketballs and other equipment and keep an eye on the safety and maintenance of “their” parks. These staff were eliminated during the financial crisis of the 1970s, but should be recalled to enhance the use and management of the park.
The capital construction process is a deeper, city-wide mess. Building anything in New York City is complicated. This is a crowded place and there are a lot of regulations for good reason, but we need to find a way to simplify the process. Modern communication and computer technology should be combined with modern supply chain and operations management techniques to move projects faster from approval to design and construction.
There are many competing for city funding: crime, education, health, homelessness and hunger are just a few of them. But parks are a resource that all New Yorkers use, and during the pandemic, they are our backyards and social gathering places. There are no VIP suites like the Super Bowl, no ropes like the Oscars, and no admission fees. We took our granddaughter to a couple of playgrounds in Morningside Park last Saturday and the diversity and energy of the kids was as inspiring as ever. I’ve spent more time in NYC parks than at any point in my life since the pandemic started. I see sports coaches meeting clients, families throwing birthday parties, and musicians keeping the arts alive. The mayor understands the importance of these places to his constituents.As Dana Rubinstein wrote in New York Times:
“District chiefs typically don’t exercise too much formal power, as former Brooklyn borough chief Mr. Adams can attest. But the position does provide an overbearing pulpit, and the five current borough leaders are betting they can do more together than individually. Greater influence. This move is the first test of that proposition. “A lot of people are tired of polarized politics and fighting for everything,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fusella. He’s the only Republican of the five…Mr Fossella said the borough president has been speaking for about a month. They communicate through five-way texts. Despite their diverse political views, they find them At least one thing can be agreed upon: good trees, the more the merrier.”
February 4th, Mayor Adams names Susan Donoghuethe head of the Prospect Park Alliance, as the new park commissioner, and Iris Rodriguez-Rosa, the current Bronx commissioner, serves as her first deputy commissioner.Announcement Events Inspirational (View video), apparently Mayor Adams understands the importance of parks and is committed to improving park equity. As he said when announcing the new parks leadership, “parks are a necessity, not a luxury.” I very much hope that his administration will deliver on its promises.
