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Home , Bronx Community Board 12, Bronx Community Board 6, Bronx Community Board 7, Bronx Park, Henry Hudson Park, High Line

North Riverdale, Fieldston, b r o n x Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Kingsbridge, c i t y , Norwood, c o u n c i l 2009 d i s t r i c t 11 Woodlawn, Wakefield, Belmont, Bronxdale

Parks are an essential city service. They are the barometers of our city. From Flatbush to Flushing and Morrisania to Midtown, parks are the front and backyards of all New Yorkers. Well-maintained and designed parks offer recreation and solace, improve property values, reduce crime, and contribute to healthy communities.

s h o w c a s e : “Parkland alienation” is the taking of parkland for a non-park use. Today, parkland can be taken for development too easily, and in a dense city where parks are our front and back yards, this can have a devastating effect. New Yorkers for Parks has worked with the legal community to strengthen the alienation process and protect parks that are in danger of being alienated. Since 2003, 48 acres of Van Cort- Ewen Park, Spuyten Duyvil landt Park have been used for construction of a water fltration The Bloomberg Administration’s physical barriers or crime. As a result, plant. A lawsuit required that PlaNYC is the first-ever effort to studies show significant increases in the City pay $243 million to sustainably address the many infra- nearby real estate values. Greenways revitalize other Bronx parks as structure needs of City, are expanding waterfront access mitigation. Visit www.ny4p.org including parks. With targets set for while creating safer routes for cyclists for more information on park- stormwater management, air quality and pedestrians, and the new initia- land alienation. and more, the City is working to tive to reclaim streets for public use update infrastructure for a growing brings fresh vibrancy to the city. population while addressing envi- ronmental concerns. Through ambi- ’s population is tious goals to increase access to parks projected to increase by one million and open spaces, New York’s fiscally new residents by 2030, and demand prudent administration affirms that for our 29,000 acres of parkland investing in parks is good business. will only grow. It is imperative that creative efforts to expand our open Park innovations have flourished in spaces continue—but perhaps more recent years. The creation of Hudson importantly, existing parks must be River Park and the revitalization of protected, maintained and adequate- allow access to areas ly funded to best serve current and that were previously off-limits due to future New Yorkers. City Council District Profiles City Council District Profiles Citywide

Citywide Parks by the A New Master Plan for Parks Numbers Significant steps have been made toward PlaNYC’s parks and open space targets, which include ensuring 29,000 that every New Yorker lives within a 10-minute walk Acres of parkland of a park and planting 1 million trees. Important 1,700 projects like the development of regional parks and Parks the “schoolyards-to-playgrounds” initiative, which opens schoolyards after hours to the public, increase 1,000 recreation space, thus resulting in an even greater Playgrounds need for maintenance funds.

2,300 PlaNYC shows the City’s commitment to Greenstreets improving open space and recreation opportunities. 12,000 Now, we must take the next step and create a master Acres of natural areas plan for New York City’s parks, which does not exist today. A master plan would respond to particular 600,000 neighborhood and regional needs and outline how Park trees best to expand the park system to serve current 2 million and future residents. Street trees Any expansion to the parks system requires 14 maintenance funding. Most city parks rely on Miles of beaches public funding, but this is not a predictable source as evidenced by the current economic recession. 800 While spending on park maintenance increased by Athletic felds 50 percent under Mayor Bloomberg between 2003 50 and 2008, a gloomy economic forecast can be expect- Recreation centers ed to result in cuts to the Parks budget in 2009 and beyond. Public-private partnerships will be affected 66 by the recession as well. Innovative funding streams Pools —as well as improved management strategies— can help ensure that the parks system will 6 weather these storms. Top: Breininger Playground, Ice rinks Above: , 22 Historic house museums Historical City Funding for the Parks Department (Adjusted) 1,000 $500 Monuments, sculptures and $400 historical markers d o l l a r s $300 o f

$200 m i l l i o n s $100 in

$0 ’89 ’90 ’91 ’92 ’93 ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10*

f i s c a l y e a r *2010 = Projected budget By the Borough: Bronx

BRONX Parkland Alienation Park Inspection Program Ratings: Parks by vs. Citywide (Percent rated acceptable) Numbers Although the Bronx has the most parkland of the Bronx Citywide five boroughs, much of that acreage is contained in 100% 2,596 , at 2,766 acres the largest in the city. Acres of natural areas Bronx parks have been subject to two significant cases 90% of “alienation”: the taking of parkland for a non-park 191 use. In 2003, the City and State approved construc- Playgrounds 80% tion of a water filtration plant in Van Cortlandt Park, and in 2006, 22 acres of well-loved parkland 117 70% Comfort stations were alienated for a new Stadium. The Van 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Cortlandt Park case was high-profile and resulted in The Parks Department conducts 5,000 park inspections annually 374 mitigation funds for Bronx parks, but the alienation through their internal rating system, the Park Inspection Program. Drinking fountains at took place in only eight days with residents left in the dark. Both cases resulted in 144 soured relations between the City and the affected Athletic felds communities. Unfortunately, parkland can be legally 201 taken without public notification. The alienation pro- courts cess must be strengthened so that parkland in every borough can be preserved for New Yorkers. 436 Greenstreets Three non-profit partner groups fundraise for Bronx parks, in addition to 10 groups that raise money to 10 Pools support parks citywide.

Bronx Park Staffing 27 Gardeners & Assistant Gardeners 216 City Parks Workers At left: Van Cortlandt Park, Van Cortlandt Village & Associate Park Above: Poe Park, Fordham Service Workers 52 The Bronx has the highest percentage of land devoted to parks of the fve boroughs. Park Supervisors Bronx Citywide Park acreage 7,002 29,000 12 Recreation Directors & Percent of borough devoted to parks 26% 14% Specialists The Bronx has the 2nd lowest number of residents per acre of parkland of the fve boroughs. 5 Total population 1.3 million 8 million Playground Associates Residents per acre of parkland 190 276 23 The Bronx has the 2nd greatest tree canopy coverage of the fve boroughs. Parks Enforcement Patrol Tree canopy (trees on public and private land) 24% 24% (PEP) Offcers & Rangers Number of street trees per mile of sidewalk 37 41 Van0 Cortlandt Park, 0.5Bronx 1Miles bronx City Council District 11

´ College of District Statistics St Vincent AV a c r e a g e o f c i t y p a r k s

AV LIEBIG AV Total district acreage 5,164 ALE

ALISADE Total parkland acreage 1,876 P W 260 ST RIVERD New Jersey North Riverdale Parks & playgrounds acreage 1,674 E 242 ST Percent City parkland E 241 ST of total district acreage

Y HUDSON PY Percent parkland 36% Westchester W 254 ST AV W 256 ST HENR Citywide 14% AV

SET

4 ON RD MOSHOLU 1

MAR 5W 253 ST AV 4 CAMP ST p o p u l a t i o n RICHARDSON Ranking of City parkland E 239 ST THA E 239 ST KA KEPLER AV AV acres/resident AV 6 T Population 164,722 ONAH WaNEREIDkefield (1=highest, 51=lowest) W AV AV 2 Population under 18 38,436 BULLARD SPAULDING LA AV 11 AV E 236 ST PITMAN Percent under 18 23% GOODRIDGE 7 E 234 ST

Y HUDSON PY 3 AV 4 Acres parkland per 1,000 residents 11 Ranking of City parks &

AV HENR WOODLAWN LAKE AV HUDSON RIVER ALDO AV VAN CORTLANDT LAKE ALD playgrounds acres/child Acres parks & playgrounds per 1,000 children 44 Riverdale W ON ON EDENW

ALISADE DUR P Woodlawn Cemetery YEA LIVINGST E 230 ST JER l a n g u a g e a c c e s s CD 11 Citywide AV 8 OME

AV Most common foreign language spoken at home Spanish Spanish A PL 9 GRENAD 11 Percent of homes speaking this language 21% 18% 10 W 236 ST Eastchester 12 AV AV AV ON Williamsbridge NEW 13 ALE c i v i c e n g a g e m e n t CD 11 Citywide AV SCHIEFFELIN ARLINGT W MOSHOLU PY N Edenwald RIVERD 11 AV Registered voters 77% 76% SEDGWICK DEKALB E 224 ST AV 16 17 AV Number general parks-related 14 W 227 ST AV E 216 ST 12 E 210 ST YNE 311 calls per 1,000 residents 10 10 AV

WA WILLETT Spuyten Duyvil KINGSBRIDGE 19 CHESTER ST Number of parks-related 311 calls for maintenance 15 ULDING E 211 ST E AV 21 PA per 1,000 residents 2 1 18 TLANDT Olinville 23 TILDEN ST AN COR JEROME PARK V NEWELL ST WY 22 AV Marble Hill RESERVOIR AV 20 TUR p a r k r e s o u r c e s CD 11 Citywide A Norwood AV AN DEC APUCHIN GIV TE Does not include capital funding allocated to multiple districts or citywide. GOULDEN C Co-Op City ROSEWOOD ST AV

TY ET NB AV AV

TING District-specific capital funding, 2004–2009 $1.9 million $4.2 million W 197 ST UL AV PA * LUR HAMMERSLEY TE BRIGGS AV KINGSBRIDGE AV Baychester OIR PARKVIEW p a r k s i n s p e c t i o n p r o g r a m r a t i n g s 7 V

OUNG

* Bedford Park AV Y RESER Results of the Parks Department’s internal inspections. ATUR NYC AV 26 DEC

Transit MAJOR DEEGAN EP FY 2004 FY 2008 * VR PY ET SB Inwood MORRIS 15 POND PL 100 * BX R 25 E 194 ST 24 AV 80 89% 88% 14 84% 86% 60 Fordham Fordham COLDEN University 40

AV 10 Pelham Gardens rated

cent parks *

20 “acceptable” ARKER

13 r Pe * B ASTOR AV * * 0 V DR M L KING JR BL E 188 ST AN HOESEN AV CD 11 Citywide * W 181 ST Belmont W 179 S 3 Pelham WILSON AV A

T WB ON ST V U T V N o p e n s p a c e CD 11 Citywide Number of community gardens per 1,000 acres 2 4 From Bronx Community Board 8: Vacant lot acreage 93 8,512 Parks, playgrounds LEGEND nn DPR community gardens Percent vacant 2% 4% 1/2 Mile nn Other community gardens and beaches Council District Border nn DPR beaches h e a l t h Parks help keep our children off the streets 1 Wakefield Playground 15 Spuyten Duyvil nn New York City Department of nn State and federal parkland Number of hospital admissions per 10,000 residents: CD 11 Citywide Shorefront Park Parks and Recreation (DPR) Asthma 36 31 2 nn City-owned vacant land ‘‘and engaged in physical activity, which is 16 Ewen Park parks, playgrounds and Diabetes 10 11 3 Van Cortlandt Park Q DPR schoolyards-to- greenstreets often lacking in their lives. These parks 4 17 Fort Independence playgrounds sites Playground nn DPR natural areas e d u c a t i o n CD 11 Citywide 5 need proper maintenance, yet last year not 18 Kingsbridge (Schoolyards-to-playgrounds is a citywide PlaNYC initiative Percent fourth graders meeting standards in math 78% 81% 6 to open schoolyards to the public during afterschool hours.) one of our requests was approved. We hope Recreation Center Percent fourth graders meeting standards in reading 56% 63% 7 Riverdale Park 19 Jerome Park this year will be different. 8 Brust Park 20 Harris Field 9 MacLaughlin Playground 21 10 Riverdale Playground 22 Varian Park Statement of Needs for Fiscal Year 2008 11 Spuyten Duyvil Playground 23 12 Wallenberg Forest 24 ’’ 13 Seton Park 25 Zimmerman Playground 14 26 Parkside Playground

Tools for Action Let your elected officials know how important parks are to you. City Council Member: G. [email protected] (718) 519-6990 (718) 933-5650 Bronx Community Board 8 (718) 884-3959 (718) 881-4455 City of New York 311 or www.nyc.gov State and Federal Representatives www.elections.state.ny.us New Yorkers for Parks www.ny4p.org Fort Independence Playground, Kingsbridge Williamsbridge Oval, Norwood Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront Park, Spuyten Duyvil

b o a r d c h a i r p h o t o g r a p h y Supporters About New Yorkers d a t a s o u r c e s Catherine Morrison Golden David Silverstein, Manager Altman Foundation for Parks All data is from 2008 unless noted. “Citywide”: Parks by the Numbers - NYC Department of Arthur Ross Foundation Parks and Recreation (DPR); Budget chart - Adopted Budgets, NYC Office of Management and e x e c u t i v e d i r e c t o r District 11 Photographer: New Yorkers for Parks is the only Greenacre Foundation Budget (OMB), FY 1989-2009, Preliminary Budget, OMB, FY 2010. “By the borough”: PIP Ratings, Christian DiPalermo Bill DesJardins independent watchdog for all the By the numbers & Staffing - DPR; Trees -“Trees Count!” Street Tree Census report, 2005-2006, DPR; Henry and Lucy Moses Fund city’s parks, beaches and playgrounds. This page: Population - Census2000; Language access - Infoshare.org; Civic engagement - NYC Board Ben Carlson d i s t r i c t p r o f i l e s s ta f f John N. Blackman, Sr. Foundation The city’s oldest and leading inde- of Elections and NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DOITT), Tim Francis Cheryl Huber, Director Abby R. Mauzé Trust pendent expert on park conditions, FY 2008; Park resources and PIP ratings - DPR: Community Gardens - Council on the Environment of Christine Kaelin NYC; Vacant land - MapPLUTO copyrighted by the New York City Department of Planning, BYTES Alyson Beha The Armand G. Erpf Fund efficiency and funding, New Yorkers Susan McCartney of the BIG APPLE; Health - NYS Department of Health, 2006 via Infoshare.org; Education - NYC and Andrea Marpillero-Colomina The Dana Foundation for Parks has worked for 100 years Laura Napier NYS Departments of Education, 2007-2008, analysis by the Annenberg Foundation. The Rhodebeck Charitable Trust to ensure greener, safer, cleaner g r a p h i c d e s i g n e r Mark Sanders Norman and Rosita Winston parks for all New Yorkers. m a p d a t a Michael Bierman David Silverstein Foundation NYC Parks properties - DPR; State parks - NYS Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; National parks - , 2006; Council District boundaries - BYTES of the Big Apple, DCP, 2005; Schoolyards-to-Playgrounds - DPR. The Future of New York City Parks

With the promise of Park parks, the money is directed to the City’s in Staten and the completion of General Fund. New Yorkers for Parks has regional parks citywide, New York City’s long advocated for City Hall to allow the park system will expand over the coming Parks Department to retain a portion of decades in a manner not seen since the this revenue to offset maintenance costs 1930s. With sound planning and sufficient throughout the system, as is done in other funding, our park system will flourish. cities such as .

Although the City has an obligation to Property Taxes: Business Improvement fund parks, we have seen that in times of Districts have a long history of funding fiscal crisis, parks suffer. We must ensure park maintenance through tax revenues, that all parks—particularly those that with Bryant Park as the lead example. cannot rely on private funding—receive Friends of is pursuing adequate public support. this structure. Such arrangements place some of the costs of park maintenance While “friends of” groups and the robust on businesses or residents whose property volunteer program administered through values benefit from a well-maintained park. Partnerships for Parks have a positive im- pact on park maintenance, more dollars are Public-Private Partnerships: More than needed. Park advocates have long debated 30 park-specific non-profits around the how to ensure funding streams outside of city fundraise for specific parks—such as the city budget to maintain our parks in all Conservancy and the Riverside fiscal climates. The funding mechanisms Park Fund. Groups typically raise money below have been successful in New York for capital projects or ongoing park main- City and elsewhere. Now is the time to tenance; however, this strategy has worked carefully examine these strategies to plan only in high-income areas. for the future. Zoning Bonuses: Developer incentives Concessions: More than $50 million is to improve open space can produce earned annually from concessions such as successful results. In West Chelsea, the food stands and ice skating rinks operated City passed a special zoning amendment on City parkland. Some public-private that allowed developers to build higher in partnerships are allowed to keep a portion exchange for contributing to an ongoing of concession revenues earned in particular maintenance fund to benefit the new parks through unique agreements with public Park. This structure the City. But in the vast majority of should be explored citywide.

New Yorkers for Parks The Arthur Ross Center for Parks and Open Spaces 355 , 14th Floor New York, NY 10017

Tel: 212-838-9410 / Fax: 212-371-6048 Top: Madison Square Park, Manhattan Middle: Flushing -Corona Park, Queens www.ny4p.org Above: Vidalia Park, Bronx