BRONX Van Cortlandt Village, Kingsbridge Heights, CITY Fordham South, Mount Hope, COUNCIL 2009 DISTRICT 14 University Heights, Morris Heights 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. SHOWCASE : St. James Park The 2008 Spotlight on Recreation is a new project of New Yorkers for Parks award-winning Report Card on Parks. This report exam- ines the conditions of athletic fields, courts, and playgrounds in a random selection of neighbor- hood parks. Each outdoor recre- ation feature was inspected on three separate site visits, once each in June, July, and August to show the performance of these specific features over the course of the summer. The basketball, handball, and tennis courts in St. Julius Richman (Echo) Park, Mount Hope James Park were surveyed for The Bloomberg Administration’s physical barriers or crime. As a result, this project. The courts’ ratings reflected a need for improved PlaNYC is the first-ever effort to studies show significant increases in care. Visit www.ny4p.org for sustainably address the many infra- nearby real estate values. Greenways more information on the Spot- structure needs of New York City, are expanding waterfront access light on Recreation: A Report Card including parks. With targets set for while creating safer routes for cyclists on Parks Project. stormwater management, air quality and pedestrians, and the new initia- 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- New York City’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- Bryant Park 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 fields 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, Queens Ice rinks Above: Central Park, Manhattan 22 Historic house museums Historical City Funding for the Parks Department (Adjusted) 1,000 $500 Monuments, sculptures and $400 historical markers DOLLARS $300 OF $200 MILLIONS $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* FISCAL YEAR *2010 = Projected budget By the Borough: Bronx BRONX Parkland Alienation Park Inspection Program Ratings: Parks by the Bronx 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 Pelham Bay Park, 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 Yankee 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 Yankee Stadium 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 fields communities. Unfortunately, parkland can be legally 201 taken without public notification. The alienation pro- Basketball 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 five 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 five 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 five boroughs. Parks Enforcement Patrol Tree canopy (trees on public and private land) 24% 24% (PEP) Officers & Urban Park Rangers Number of street trees per mile of sidewalk 37 41 Devoe Park, Kingsbridge Heights 00.5 1Miles BRONX CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 14 1 ST T N AV SEDGW HE W From Bronx Community Board 7: W 232 ST AV District Statistics W 227 ST ACREAGE OF CITY PARKS KINGSBRIDGE 1 Total district acreage 1,166 The Department of Environmental Total parkland acreage 99 TE Parks & playgrounds acreage 90 AV Percent City parkland ‘‘Protection has provided the Borough WIN 11 of total district acreage Percent parkland 8% GOD of the Bronx with $243 million for Citywide 14% MARBLE HILL Spuyten Duyvil JEROME PARK 37 park improvements for the use [alien- POPULATION Marble Hill RESERVOIR Ranking of City parkland acres/resident Population 157, 920 ation] of parkland to construct the SPUYTEN DUYVIL CREEK AV (1=highest, 51=lowest) Population under 18 53,184 Croton Water Filtration Plant. As this MAJOR DEEGAN EN SB GOULDEN Percent under 18 34% W 225 ST 39 Acres parkland per 1,000 residents <1 project is within CB 7 lines we request TE Ranking of City parks & that we receive a far greater propor- playgrounds acres/child Acres parks & playgrounds per 1,000 children 2 2 W 197 ST 3 tionate share of these dollars due to 7 * KINGSBRIDGE LANGUAGE ACCESS CD 14 Citywide Most common foreign language spoken at home Spanish Spanish W 195 ST the enormous burdens that this 8-10 AV Percent of homes speaking this language 40% 18% W KINGSBRIDGE RD OIR V Kingsbridge Heights EAMES PL year construction project will have RESER * CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CD 14 Citywide E 196 ST upon our district. MIRIAM ST Registered voters 66% 76% MAJOR DEEGAN EP W KINGSBRIDGE RD NYC Number general parks-related Transit 14 AV 311 calls per 1,000 residents 3 10 * Inwood AV ON Number of parks-related 311 calls for maintenance Statement of Needs for Fiscal Year 2008 per 1,000 residents 1 1 4 UNIVERSITY CREST * 10 W 190 ST AV PARK RESOURCES CD 14 Citywide ’’ 6 E 194 ST Does not include capital funding allocated to multiple districts or citywide. HARLEM RIVER VIDSON Parks, playgrounds DA District-specific capital funding, 2004–2009 $2.3 million $4.2 million E 190 ST 5 and beaches Fordham PARKS INSPECTION PROGRAM RATINGS Results of the Parks Department’s internal inspections. 1 Cooney Grauer Field 11 Grand Ave Playground FY 2004 FY 2008 2 Riverbend Playground 12 Davidson Playground 100 W 183 ST E 189 ST 3 Old Fort #4 Park 13 Morris Garden 80 E 187 ST 88% 86% 75% 4 Fordham Landing Playground 14 Mt. Hope Garden 60 73% * AV DR M L KING EJR BL 40 ON 5 Devoe Park 15 Julius Richman Park 7 rated AV LT