Upper East Side, Carnegie Hill, Yorkville, m a n h a t t a n Lenox Hill, Turtle Bay, East Midtown c i t y Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Stuyvesant Town, c o u n c i l 2009 d i s t r i c t 4 Cooper Village

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 : Playground “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. The fate of Robert Moses Playground Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, Turtle Bay has been an issue for several years, since the United Nations The Bloomberg Administration’s physical barriers or crime. As a result, proposed taking over this PlaNYC is the first-ever effort to studies show significant increases in playground to expand its offces. sustainably address the many infra- nearby real estate values. Greenways Local elected offcials oppose the structure needs of , are expanding waterfront access plan, and the proposal has still including parks. With targets set for while creating safer routes for cyclists not come to a vote. To download stormwater management, air quality and pedestrians, and the new initia- New Yorkers for Parks’ educa- and more, the City is working to tive to reclaim streets for public use tional brochure on alienation, please visit www.ny4p.org 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- 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: Manhattan

MANHATTAN Public-Private Partnerships Park Inspection Program Ratings: Parks by the Manhattan vs. Citywide (Percent rated acceptable) Numbers Manhattan’s parks are well-loved and well-used. Manhattan Citywide When New York City’s fiscal crisis of the 1970s 100% 671 resulted in a decline in park conditions, a new Acres of natural areas movement of private support through public-private 90% partnerships was born. Manhattan’s parks have ben- 209 efited significantly from groups like the Central Park Playgrounds 80% Conservancy and Madison Square Park Conservancy, which have brought innovative management and 130 70% Comfort stations additional funding to the parks. Every park along 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Fifth Avenue from Central Park to The Parks Department conducts 5,000 park inspections annually 576 benefits from private support and funding. through their internal rating system, the Park Inspection Program. Drinking fountains

Twenty-three non-profit partner groups fundraise 160 for Manhattan parks, in addition to 10 groups that Athletic felds raise money to support parks citywide. 215 Basketball courts 317 Greenstreets 22 Pools

Manhattan Park Staffing 33 Gardeners & Assistant Gardeners 237 City Parks Workers At left: Bennett Park, Washington Heights & Associate Park Above: Bryant Park, Midtown Service Workers 57 Manhattan has the 3rd lowest percentage of land devoted to parks of the fve boroughs. Park Supervisors Manhattan Citywide Park acreage 2,711 29,000 34 Recreation Directors & Percent of borough devoted to parks 19% 14% Specialists Manhattan has the highest number of residents per acre of parkland of the fve boroughs. 28 Total population 1.5 million 8 million Playground Associates Residents per acre of parkland 567 276 54 Manhattan has the lowest tree canopy coverage of the fve boroughs. Parks Enforcement Patrol Tree canopy (trees on public and private land) 13% 24% (PEP) Offcers & Urban Park Rangers Number of street trees per mile of sidewalk 49 41 Saint Vartan Park, Murray Hill manhattan City Council District 4

E 102 ST From Manhattan Community Board 6: AV W 86 ST District Statistics E 97 ST 00.5 1 Miles WEST END a c r e a g e o f c i t y p a r k s Total district acreage 1,203 Upper West Side RESERVOIR W Carnegie Hill ‘Quality of Life’ in the Board area 1 Total parkland acreage 19 ‘‘is of major concern; open, public AV Percent City parkland Parks & playgrounds acreage 9 CENTRAL PK of total district acreage Percent parkland 2%

passive and active recreation space COLUMBUS E 91 ST 2 Citywide 14%

FDR DR W 76 ST 51 has had a substantial impact on that Ranking of City parkland p o p u l a t i o n W LA acres/resident Population 155,837 quality of life. This district has less (1=highest, 51=lowest) 6 8 Population under 18 17,400 E 86 ST park space per capita than almost any HY W 72 ST Upper East Side Percent under 18 11% Yorkville 49 Acres parkland per 1,000 residents <1 other district in the city. We continue AV Ranking of City parks & THE LAKE playgrounds acres/child ARK Acres parks & playgrounds per 1,000 children 2 P R D to emphasize the need for adequate ER W 67 ST AV l a n g u a g e a c c e s s CD 4 Citywide maintenance, operation and protec- BOAT BASIN E 79 ST AV Most common foreign language spoken at home Spanish Spanish ON EAST END tion of our rehabilitated parks. Lincoln Square Percent of homes speaking this language 5% 18% E 77 ST LEXINGT Lenox Hill c i v i c e n g a g e m e n t CD 4 Citywide

E 74 ST Registered voters 89% 76% Statement of Needs for Fiscal Year 2008 E 72 ST AV Number general parks-related ORK ’’ Y 311 calls per 1,000 residents 3 10 Number of parks-related 311 calls for maintenance E 68 ST 5 CENTRAL PK S 4 per 1,000 residents 1 1 Parks, playgrounds AV 5 p a r k r e s o u r c e s CD 4 Citywide and beaches E 63 ST E 66 ST Does not include capital funding allocated to multiple districts or citywide.

1 Samuel Seabury Playground 7 Robert Moses Playground AV District-specific capital funding, 2004–2009 $700,000 $4.2 million 8 Roosevelt 2 Stanley Isaacs Courts 8 Saint Vartan Park AV 7 Island W 48 ST E 59 ST 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 3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza 9 East River Esplanade W 51 ST Results of the Parks Department’s internal inspections. 4 MacArthur Park 10 Asser Levy Recreation Center 5 FY 2004 FY 2008 5 Mary O’Connor Playground 11 Murphy Park 100 98% 80 6 Tudor Grove Playground 89% 88% 86% Sutton60 Place

E 53 ST 40 rated

cent parks LEGEND nn DPR community gardens Midtown ON PL S 20 “acceptable” 3 E 49 ST Tu rtle Bay r Pe 1/4 Mile nn Other community gardens SUTT 0 WEST RD AV Council District Border nn DPR beaches T CD 4 Citywide AY EAST RD nn New York City Department of nn State and federal parkland DW OA o p e n s p a c e CD 4 Citywide ANDERBIL Parks and Recreation (DPR) V nn City-owned vacant land BR parks, playgrounds and 36 ST 3 4 Number of community gardens per 1,000 acres <1 4 Q DPR schoolyards-to- AV Long Island City greenstreets 2 Vacant lot acreage 13 8,512 playgrounds sites E 42 ST nn DPR natural areas Percent vacant 1% 4% AV (Schoolyards-to-playgrounds is a citywide PlaNYC initiative E 39 ST 5 1 to open schoolyards to the public during afterschool hours.) h e a l t h AV 6 Number of hospital admissions per 10,000 residents: CD 4 Citywide ARK 7 P Murray Hill 26 Asthma 6 31 Diabetes 1 11 E 34 ST

9 EAST RIVER e d u c a t i o n CD 4 Citywide 8 Hunters Point AV 3 Percent fourth graders meeting standards in math 82% 81% E 28 ST Percent fourth graders meeting standards in reading 72% 63%

S

AV

ARK P 2 E 23 ST Gramercy Saint Vartan Park, Murray Hill 10

VING PL IR E 20 ST F D R DR Greenpoint Tools for Action E 14 ST Let your elected officials know how important parks are to you. 4 Stuyvesant Town 33 City Council Member: Daniel R. Garodnick [email protected] Manhattan Community Board 5 (212) 465-0907 11 Manhattan Community Board 6 (212) 319-3750 ST MARK'S PL Manhattan Community Board 8 (212) 758-4340 East Village 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 Robert Moses Playground, Turtle Bay

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 4 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 Tim Francis 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), Bill DesJardins 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 - National Park Service, 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 Fresh Kills Park parks, the money is directed to the City’s in 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 Chicago.

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 the Battery 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 Meadows-Corona Park, Queens www.ny4p.org Above: Vidalia Park, Bronx