QUEENS CITY Elmhurst, Maspeth, Rego Park, Forest Hills, COUNCIL 2009 DISTRICT 29 Kew Gardens, Richmond Hill 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 : Yellowstone Municipal 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 neigh- borhood parks. Each outdoor recreation 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 MacDonald Park, Forest Hills of the summer. The basketball courts in Yellowstone Municipal The Bloomberg Administration’s physical barriers or crime. As a result, Park were surveyed for this proj- PlaNYC is the first-ever effort to studies show significant increases in ect. The courts performed above sustainably address the many infra- nearby real estate values. Greenways the citywide average. Visit www. structure needs of New York City, are expanding waterfront access ny4p.org for more information including parks. With targets set for while creating safer routes for cyclists on the Spotlight on Recreation: stormwater management, air quality and pedestrians, and the new initia- A Report Card on Parks Project. 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: Queens QUEENS Beaches and Lifeguards Park Inspection Program Ratings: Parks by the Queens vs. Citywide (% rated acceptable) Numbers Queens offers a diverse array of parks and open Queens Citywide spaces. From small urban playgrounds to the seven 100% 2,090 mile long Rockaway Beach, Queens residents can Acres of natural areas enjoy a variety of open space opportunities. Rockaway 90% Beach on the Atlantic Ocean provides recreation and 260 a reprieve from the summer heat for residents across Playgrounds 80% New York City. As described in The Report Card on Beaches, New Yorkers for Parks’ independent evalu- 180 70% Comfort stations ation of City beaches, maintenance poses a unique 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 challenge to the Parks Department due to heavy usage The Parks Department conducts 5,000 park inspections annually 776 during the summer months. Unlike parks, beach through their internal rating system, the Park Inspection Program. Drinking fountains operations require strict safety precautions such as lifeguards. Although the Rockaway Beach community 244 has struggled with the continuing lifeguard short- Athletic fields age that leads to closed areas of the beach, the Parks 316 Department recruited a record number of lifeguards Basketball courts in 2008, nearly hitting their target. 805 Four non-profit partner groups fundraise for Greenstreets Queens parks, in addition to 10 groups that raise money to support parks citywide. 10 Pools Queens Park Staffing 20 Gardeners & Assistant Gardeners 236 City Parks Workers At left: Austin Playground, Jamaica & Associate Park Above: Astoria Park, Astoria Service Workers 61 Queens has the 2nd lowest percentage of land devoted to parks of the five boroughs. Park Supervisors Queens Citywide Park acreage 7,321 29,000 19 Recreation Directors & Percent of borough devoted to parks 11% 14% Specialists Queens has the 3rd highest number of residents per acre of parkland of the five boroughs. 5 Total population 2.2 million 8 million Playground Associates Residents per acre of parkland 305 276 28 Queens has the 2nd lowest tree canopy coverage of the five boroughs. Parks Enforcement Patrol Tree canopy (trees on public and private land) 20% 24% (PEP) Officers & Urban Park Rangers Number of street trees per mile of sidewalk 49 41 Russell Sage Playground, Forest Hills 77 ST QUEENS CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 29 45 AV AW 59 Corona L AV 78 ST BQE EN NB 21 81 ST AY AV 20 62 RD 21 59 AV AV REEVES 160 ST 52 AV 97 PL AV WESTSIDE ST MAIN CORNISH CE HARDING EXPRESSW District Statistics JUSTICE HORA CUNY ACREAGE OF CITY PARKS AV Queens College 26 KNEELAND Elmhurst Lefrak City Total district acreage 2,714 AV Mt Hebron Pomonok RICE AV 1 63 Utopia 81 AV Cemetery MELBOURNE Total parkland acreage 92 HASPEL ST AV ST 25 MEADOW LAKE 68 AV Percent City parkland Parks & playgrounds acreage 36 79 ST of total district acreage ARSONS BL Percent parkland 3% P V AN Citywide 14% WETHER WYCK EP 64 AV 3 53 DR OLE ST 54 AV 38 * 1 2 QUEENS BOULEV * RankingHillcr ofest City parkland POPULATION acres/resident Population 149,716 Rego Park ARD 68 AV (1=highest, 51=lowest) 58 AV 68 DR Kew Gardens Hills 68 ST 68 AV Population under 18 26,443 AV 66 6 24 ALDWELL 8 C 75 RD Percent under 18 18% 167 ST 67 DR P AV ARK DR E 58 Forest Hills VLEIGH PL 42 Acres parkland per 1,000 residents <1 W 5 Ranking of City parks & OODHA 70 RD WILLOW LAKE playgrounds acres/child T AV St Johns Acres parks & playgrounds per 1,000 children 1 AV ELIO JUNIPER BL N 9 VEN BL 7 72 AV University 84 PL JEWEL P ALDER 112 ST 68 ST ARSONS BL 4 147 ST LANGUAGE ACCESS C D 29 Citywide T ON ST 29 Most common foreign language spoken at home Spanish Spanish 66 RD 138 ST TER RD Percent of homes speaking this language 12% 18% Forest Hills Gardens CHAR 61 DR 76 RD AV GRAND CENTRAL PARKWAY WN ST AN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT C D 29 Citywide AV 138 ST St John's Cemetery BURNS ST Middle Village * 78 126 ST JUNIPER VALLEY RD ASC 11 10 RegisteredHOMELA voters 82% 76% LANDER ST 84 RD Jamaica Hills Number general parks-related 70 ST AV Briarwood 311 calls per 1,000 residents 14 10 COOPER 85 AV Number166 ST of parks-related 311 calls for maintenance Lutheran Cemetery per 1,000 residents 1 1 12 13 144 ST BEVERL PARK RESOURCES C D 29 Citywide Y RD Does not include capital funding allocated to multiple districts or citywide. 30 AV 77 Kew Gardens District-specific capital funding, 2004–2009 $621,000 $4.2 million AV GRA CENTRAL 165 ST CE CT 125 ST 81 RD PARKS INSPECTION PROGRAM RATINGS 69 PL Results of the Parks Department’s internal inspections. Glendale BABB AGE ST FY 2004 FY 2008 133 ST 27 MYR 100 TLE AV TUCKER AV 80 96% ARCHER 90% 88% 109 ST AV 86% 86 T ON ST SOUTH RD 60 CYPRESS HILLS ST * 85 RD 118 ST GUY R 40 AV 85 AV 95 rated cent parks Cypress Hills Cemetery r BR 20 “acceptable” 112 ST Richmond Hill Pe FOREST PY 91 AV 157 ST 0 95 AV 129 ST C D 29 Citywide 117 ST 76 ST 28 AV 32 106 OBINSON PY 37 * OPEN SPACE C D 29 Citywide JACKIE R REMINGT Number of community gardens per 1,000 acres 1 4 15 * O IC AV N 8 From Queens Community Board 6: ANT Vacant lot acreage 35 8,512 LEGEND nn DPR community gardens Parks, playgrounds Percent vacant 1% 4% 1/4 Mile nn Other community gardens and beaches Council District Border nn DPR beaches HEALTH Number of hospital admissions per 10,000 residents: CD 29 Citywide The backlog of dead trees, shafts, 1 Former Elmhurst 7 MacDonald Park nn New York City Department of nn State and federal parkland Gas Tank Site Parks and Recreation (DPR) Asthma 12 31 8 Flushing Meadows nn City-owned vacant land ‘‘and stumps remains.