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Group calls on mayor to double $500 million plan to maintain parks
By
Rosemary Misdary
and
Nsikan Akpan
Published Mar 15, 2022
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Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office via Flickr
By
Rosemary Misdary
and
Nsikan Akpan
Published Mar 15, 2022
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Local lawmakers are putting pressure on Mayor Eric Adams to fulfill his campaign promise to make New York City greener by committing more cash to the parks department, something Adams did not follow through with in his preliminary budget.
On Monday in Flushing Meadows, members of the City Council and environmental stakeholders called for a $1 billion investment in annual maintenance for New York City parks as part of a five-point plan for improving parks and access to green spaces.
Such a commitment would mean that the city is spending 1% of its budget on operating parks and recreational areas — and would match a promise that Adams made on the campaign trail for the mayorship. But in his first preliminary budget proposal, which the Council is currently reviewing, Adams only allotted about half this amount — $500 million — to these activities.
The five-point proposal also pushes for waterfront access for all, the planting of 1 million trees to help increase the city’s canopy cover to 30% by 2035 and upgrading playgrounds, parks and school yards in every ZIP code of New York City. This group would also like the city to create a Parks Construction Authority for the goal of building new parks. Such a proposal has been introduced by Queens state Senator Leroy Comrie.
Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, who represents Jackson Heights and Elmhurst in Queens and chairs the Council's Parks and Recreation Committee, is spearheading the request. His district has one of the least amount of green space in the five boroughs.
“What we've seen through this pandemic is how essential our parks and greenspaces are for our lives," Krishnan told Gothamist on Tuesday. “It's an issue of public health. It's an issue of social justice. It's an issue of racial justice.”
Along with a half dozen other Council members, the co-signers on the proposal include Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. and The Nature Conservancy in New York.
Their rally came a day after Adams broke ground on a $2.2 million refurbishment of Saratoga Playground on the borders of Brownsville and Bed Stuy in Brooklyn. The event was part of a larger announcement on $417 million capital investment into park revitalization projects that were paused during the pandemic.
Mayor Eric Adams announces new investments in New York City's Parks at Saratoga Park in Brooklyn, March 13, 2022.
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office via Flickr
“COVID hijacked not only our personal spaces, but our green spaces,” Adams said on Sunday. “We're saying today as we cycle out of COVID that it's time to get back into our green and our open spaces.”
He said construction on those projects would begin this spring. He added that he wants to invest more in parks but must also consider the economic crisis.
Tagged
new york city
parks department
parks
Mayor Eric Adams
parks and recreation
Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
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Nsikan Akpan
Nsikan is the former editor of the health and science desk at WNYC/Gothamist. Nsikan was previously at National Geographic where he worked as a science editor, overseeing its COVID-19 coverage in addition to other topics in science, health and technology. Before National Geographic, he worked for more than four years at PBS NewsHour, where he co-created an award-winning video series named ScienceScope. He shared a 2020 Emmy for the PBS NewsHour series “Stopping a Killer Pandemic” and in 2019 received a George Foster Peabody Award for the PBS NewsHour series “The Plastic Problem.” Nsikan has also worked for NPR, Science News Magazine, Science Magazine, KUSP Central Coast Public Radio, the Santa Cruz Sentinel and as a writer at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University. He holds a doctorate in pathobiology from Columbia University and is an alum of the science communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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