MANHATTAN Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan, SoHo, CITY Tribeca, Civic Centre, Little Italy, Chinatown, COUNCIL 2009 DISTRICT 1 Lower East Side 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 : City Hall Park “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 northern portion of City Hall Park was closed to the public after 9/11 due to security con- Battery Park, Battery Park City cerns. Following a long battle led The Bloomberg Administration’s physical barriers or crime. As a result, by the Friends of City Hall Park, the park was reopened for public PlaNYC is the first-ever effort to studies show significant increases in use in 2007. To download New sustainably address the many infra- nearby real estate values. Greenways Yorkers for Parks’ educational structure needs of New York City, are expanding waterfront access brochure on alienation, please including parks. With targets set for while creating safer routes for cyclists visit www.ny4p.org. 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: 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 Battery 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 fields 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 five 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 five 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 five boroughs. Parks Enforcement Patrol Tree canopy (trees on public and private land) 13% 24% (PEP) Officers & Urban Park Rangers Number of street trees per mile of sidewalk 49 41 Washington Market Park, Tribeca MANHattan CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 T 37 43 y A V V ST ST A A E 45 ST 8 TNL ARK From Manhattan Community Board 1: W 34 ST P District Statistics W 27 ST W 30 ST 00.5 1Miles LINCOLN E 42 ST ACREAGE OF CITY PARKS Midtown South AV Total district acreage 1,768 ARK P Community Board 1 children and Total parkland acreage 115 AV 10 Murray Hill Percent City parkland Parks & playgrounds acreage 74 ‘‘adults currently find themselves AV E 35 ST 7 of total district acreage Percent parkland 6% dramatically short of recreation fields AV Citywide 14% AY F 11 DW to play on. It is essential that as OA 32 BR POPULATION S Ranking of City parkland Chelsea AV acres/resident Population 149,358 ARK much of Governor’s Island and its P (1=highest, 51=lowest) Population under 18 22,706 W 14 ST AS historic structures remain open to Percent under 18 15% AMERIC Flatiron THE 29 Acres parkland per 1,000 residents <1 the public as possible. Ranking of City parks & OF GREENWICH AV playgrounds acres/child Acres parks & playgrounds per 1,000 children 3 WEST ST E 19 ST Gramercy AV LANGUAGE ACCESS CD 1 Citywide Statement of Needs for Fiscal Year 2008 F D R DR Most common foreign language spoken at home Chinese Spanish West Village 4 E 14 ST Percent of homes speaking this language 30% 18% S AV ’’ 7 AV 2 AV Stuyvesant Town & 4 CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CD 1 Citywide Parks, playgrounds WEST ST 3 Peter Cooper Village 1 C Registered voters 85% 76% AV 2 Number general parks-related HUDSON ST and beaches Greenwich Village ST MARK'S PL HUDSON RIVER 311 calls per 1,000 residents 5 10 East Village 1 Washington Square Park 17 Coleman Square Playground W HOUST 2 Number of parks-related 311 calls for maintenance E 5 ST 2 Mercer Street Playground 18 Sophie Irene Loeb Playground ON ST per 1,000 residents 2 1 3 First Park 19 Seward Park Y E 3 ST PARK RESOURCES CD 1 Citywide 4 Desalvio Playground 20 Captain Jacob Joseph Soho WER BO Does not include capital funding allocated to multiple districts or citywide. 5 Sara D. Roosevelt Park Playground D 3 AV District-specific capital funding, 2004–2009 $3.8 million $4.2 million 6 ABC Playground 21 Little Flower Playground C 22 Luther Gulick Playground ANAL ST 4 5 6 7 Nathan Straus Playground PARKS INSPECTION PROGRAM RATINGS 23 Sidney Hillman Playground 1 Little Italy 8 Battery Park City Parks Tribeca Results of the Parks Department’s internal inspections. 9 Hudson River Park 24 Sol Lain Playground 7 FY 2004 FY 2008 100 25 Henry M. Jackson Playground YETTE ST 10 Washington Market Park A Lower East Side 8 LAF 80 92% 26 Clinton Cherry Playground 9 88% 11 City Hall Park ✱ 10 81% 86% WO 60 27 Lillian D. Wald Playground RTH ST 12 Columbus Park CHAMBERS ST Chinatown 22 40 rated 28 Public Place 12 cent parks 13 James Madison Plaza 19 23 r 20 “acceptable” 24 Pe 14 Alfred E.