Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Turf wars: NYC Council bill would ban artificial grass in city parks
By
Liam Quigley
Published Mar 2, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Liam Quigley
By
Liam Quigley
Published Mar 2, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A city councilmember from Manhattan and environmental activists are launching a war on turf.
Councilmember Christopher Marte has introduced legislation that would end the use of artificial turf in New York City parks. Critics said the fake grass hurts people and the environment.
The bill language makes an exception for parks department land already covered by synthetic turf, which advocates say traps heat, spreads toxic chemicals, and increases injuries to parkgoers. The department currently has plans to install new turf at 50 existing artificial fields over the next five years, a parks official confirmed.
”Sometimes the turf goes 50 degrees warmer than the current temperature outside. I personally experienced this in East River Park, where it was 90 degrees across the street, but on the artificial turf, it was 120 degrees,” Marte said.
Artificial turf features a plastic layer that is made to look like grass. Typically below that is a subsurface of “crumb rubber” composed of ground-down recycled tires. Turf has become popular because it requires less maintenance than grass.
But Nyah Estevez, an organizer with the group Beyond Plastics, said synthetic turf subjects children to toxic chemicals and sheds microplastics that end up in people's bloodstreams.
“Synthetic turf comes from the petrochemical industry, and it sheds microplastics and microplastics have been found in our bloodstream, in our brain, in our lungs,” she said.
Parents and activists fought over plans to install a turf playing field in Montclair, New Jersey, last year, with some parents arguing the fake grass is safer for athletes.
Pat Arnow, with the group East River Action, said that when artificial turf was installed as part of an overhaul of Pier 42 in Manhattan, plastic byproducts flowed to the water.
“ We saw that after a rain, the blades of artificial grass, the green dyes and the little infill beads were flowing into the East River," Arnow said. "We looked into it and we learned these substances pollute our waterways."
A parks department spokesperson said the agency would review the bill following its introduction to the City Council on Thursday.
Tagged
new york city
parks
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .