City Council District Profiles

BRONX Woodlawn, Wakefield, Williamsbridge, CITY Olinville, Eastchester, Edenwald, Baychester COUNCIL 2009 DISTRICT 12 Co-Op City, Allerton, Pelham Gardens 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 : Haffen 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 neighborhood 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 of the summer. The courts and playground in Haffen Park were Haffen Park, Baychester surveyed for this project. The The Bloomberg Administration’s physical barriers or crime. As a result, courts performed higher than the citywide average, and the PlaNYC is the first-ever effort to studies show significant increases in playground’s score reflected the sustainably address the many infra- nearby real estate values. Greenways citywide average. Visit www.ny4p. structure needs of New York City, are expanding waterfront access org for more information on the including parks. With targets set for while creating safer routes for cyclists Spotlight on Recreation 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 00.5 1Miles Seton Falls Park, Eastchester bronX CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 12 W 260 ST E 243 ST E 241 ST OSGOOD ST ST OUEN ST AV W 256 ST AV CRANFORD SET District Statistics E 239 ST ON ACREAGE OF CITY PARKS AV E 239 ST RICHARDSON Total district acreage 3,252 E 239 ST KA AV TLANDT PK E T AV ONEID NEREID ONAH Total parkland acreage 227 Y LA VAN COR VIREO A Wakefield AV Parks & playgrounds acreage 137 MUND AV Percent City parkland VAN E 236 ST of total district acreage Percent parkland 7% WICKHAM CORTLANDT PETERS PL E 234 ST V LAKE Citywide 14% HILL AV AV BRONX ALD AV 25 POPULATION EDENWEDSON Westchester County RIVER Ranking of City parkland acres/resident E 232 ST Population 165,184 Woodlawn Cemetery 1 AV (1=highest, 51=lowest) JER Population under 18 43,729 OME AN COLLEGE PY TT AV Percent under 18 26% E 224 ST A PL GRENAD 2 E 227 ST 9 30 Acres parkland per 1,000 residents 1 11 Ranking of City parks & Eastchester playgrounds acres/child Acres parks & playgrounds per 1,000 children 3 MAJOR DEEGAN ET SBVAN COR 8 TLANDT PK S Williamsbridge AV 12 7 LANGUAGE ACCESS CD 12 Citywide W MOSHOLU PY N AV Edenwald SEDGWICK DEKALB E 211 ST E 219 ST E 223 ST Most common foreign language spoken at home Spanish Spanish JEROME 10 Percent of homes speaking this language 14% 18% PARK E 210 ST AV RESERVOIR 3 VR PY EN NB EASTCHESTER RD CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CD 12 Citywide ULDING W 205 ST BX R PA E 209 ST Registered voters 74% 76% TILDEN ST Olinville Number general parks-related 12 311 calls per 1,000 residents 8 10 ARKSIDE PL E 204 ST P Norwood 4 FISH Number of parks-related 311 calls for maintenance E MOSHOLU PY N 5 AV 11 Co-Op City per 1,000 residents 0 1 E 204 ST AV 13 E 198 ST BA BRIGGS AV YCHESTER AV PARK RESOURCES CD 12 Citywide 5 ST ADEE OIR V Baychester Does not include capital funding allocated to multiple districts or citywide. * AV 6 RESER ON PL NEW ENGLANDAV ATUR District-specific capital funding, 2004–2009 $650,000 $4.2 million SEXT W Bedford ParkDEC AV AV DEWITT PL HUTCHINSON BA 14 ON Y PZ RIVER PARKS INSPECTION PROGRAM RATINGS * ON RD 13 AV CREST TY E 194 ST BOST E GUN HILL RD Results of the Parks Department’s internal inspections. ON AV FY 2004 FY 2008 AV PELHAM BAY E 190 ST 100 MACE AV EINSTEIN LO E Fordham GABRIEL DR Fordham 80 University SEYMOUR 92% OLINVILLE 87% 88% 86% WARING AV Pelham Gardens WARING AV 60 E 187 ST E 191 ST ASTOR AV AV 40 AV rated * cent parks AV r UGER 20 “acceptable” PELHAM PY N AV WELL 13 Pe CR STILL TIEBOUT TURTLE Belmont 0 COVE WILSON

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