b r o o k l y n c i t y Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, Clinton Hill, c o u n c i l 2009 d i s t r i c t 35 Crown Heights North, Crown Heights South

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 : The Daffodil Project, a partner- ship between New Yorkers for Parks and the NYC Parks Department, was created as a citywide beautifcation project and living memorial to Sep- tember 11. Each year, thanks to the generous donation of B&K Flowerbulbs, the two groups dis- tribute hundreds of thousands of free daffodil bulbs for volunteers and community groups to plant in ’s parks and open spaces. In 2008 the Myrtle Avenue Partnership, Underwood Park, Clinton Hill an economic development group, The Bloomberg Administration’s physical barriers or crime. As a result, planted more than 1,000 daffodils in Fort Greene Park. Visit www. PlaNYC is the first-ever effort to studies show significant increases in ny4p.org for more information sustainably address the many infra- nearby real estate values. Greenways on The Daffodil Project. structure needs of New York City, are expanding waterfront access including parks. With targets set for while creating safer routes for cyclists 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- 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, Queens 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: Brooklyn

BROOKLYN Waterfront Reclamation Park Inspection Program Ratings: Parks by the Brooklyn vs. Citywide (Percent rated acceptable) Numbers Brooklyn’s was Frederick Law Brooklyn Citywide Olmsted’s self-declared masterpiece. But until 100% 973 recently, Brooklynites have been sorely lacking in Acres of natural areas recreational opportunities along the waterfront. 90% Thanks to several large waterfront projects new 291 attention has been brought to Brooklyn’s coast. Playgrounds 80% The expansive Brooklyn will offer unprecedented access to the water, and the 172 70% Comfort stations Bloomberg Administration’s rezoning of the 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront promises The Parks Department conducts 5,000 park inspections annually 852 new recreational opportunities and greenspace. through their internal rating system, the Park Inspection Program. Drinking fountains

Five non-profit partner groups fundraise for 246 Brooklyn parks, in addition to 10 groups that Athletic felds raise money to support parks citywide. 343 Basketball courts 480 Greenstreets 16 Pools

Brooklyn Park Staffing 20 Gardeners & Assistant Gardeners 208 City Parks Workers At left: Herbert Von King Park, Bedford Stuyvesant & Associate Park Above: Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino Park, New Utrecht Service Workers 66 Brooklyn has the lowest percentage of land devoted to parks of the fve boroughs. Park Supervisors Brooklyn Citywide Park acreage 4,481 29,000 30 Recreation Directors & Percent of borough devoted to parks 10% 14% Specialists Brooklyn has the 2nd highest number of residents per acre of parkland of the fve boroughs. 13 Total population 2.5 million 8 million Playground Associates Residents per acre of parkland 550 276 27 Brooklyn has the 3rd lowest tree canopy coverage of the fve boroughs. Parks Enforcement Patrol Tree canopy (trees on public and private land) 21% 24% (PEP) Offcers & Urban Park Rangers Number of street trees per mile of sidewalk 45 41 00.5 1Miles

Fort Greene Park, Fort Greene brooklyn City Council District 35

2 North Side From Brooklyn Community Board 8: District Statistics 1 ENGL a c r e a g e o f c i t y p a r k s Total district acreage 1,970 East Williamsburg Presently, outdated equipment, Total parkland acreage 162 ‘‘ faulty groundwork on our basket- South Side Percent City parkland Parks & playgrounds acreage 90 34 of total district acreage Percent parkland 8% ball courts, and poorly lit play areas Citywide 14% 28 tarnish our playgrounds. Funding Ranking of City parkland p o p u l a t i o n acres/resident EAST RIVER Williamsburg Population 150,880 must be provided in order to rectify (1=highest, 51=lowest) WALLABOUT CHANNEL Population under 18 37,862 these problems and make our parks Percent under 18 25% 37 Acres parkland per 1,000 residents 1 Vinegar Hill Ranking of City parks & and playgrounds safe and enjoyable NAVY YARD BASIN GEE OSS ST AV R playgrounds acres/child FRONT ST LEE Acres parks & playgrounds per 1,000 children 2 for those that utilize them. AV AV

MANH BR UNION l a n g u a g e a c c e s s CD 35 Citywide WILLIAMSBURG ST E 1 2 ST SANDS ST Most common foreign language spoken at home Spanish Spanish AP 33 HOPKINS ST

CUMBERLAND ST AV Percent of homes speaking this language 11% 18% E NASSA Navy Yard U ST FLUSHING W GRAND Statement of Needs for Fiscal Year 2008 Z WA CONCORD ST3 ARSOFF PL ON ST HALL ST OCKT VERL ST B ST ED 5 KENT US 4 AV R ARK AV P Y YERSON ST 6 c i v i c e n g a g e m e n t CD 35 Citywide AV 2 W BQE AV ’’ ARD'S ST AV BR T MYRTLE OA AR H Registered voters 75% 76% 8 SKILLMAN ST FLA D AV W

WK WILLOUGHBY TBUSH 7 Parks, playgrounds Number general parks-related FLEET TLE AV AV 9 MYR 311 calls per 1,000 residents 7 10

T EX WA AAFFE PL Downtown ASHLAND PL C VERL Number of parks-related 311 calls for maintenance ARL

R 12 O ST YERSON ST AV Y and beaches T 13 DE KALB KOSCIUSZK per 1,000 residents 1 1 ON 10 V AV

ANDERBIL

1 Bridge Park 14 Edmonds Playground AV 11 2 McLaughlin Park 15 underwood Park p a r k r e s o u r c e s CD 35 Citywide T STUYVESANT

AV 16 LEWIS Does not include capital funding allocated to multiple districts or citywide. 3 Golconda Playground 16 Classon Playground FT GREENE PL 14 ON AV LEXINGT Fort Greene 15 AV AV THR S POR District-specific capital funding, 2004–2009 $14,000 $4.2 million 4 Commodore John Barry 17 Cuyler Gore LAFAYETTE Bedford Stuyvesant

OOP AV

Park and Playground TLAND 18 Greene Playground Boerum Hill CLERMONT AV 18 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 5 oxport Playground ST JAMES PL 19 South Oxford Tennis Club HANSON PL AV 17 GRAND 36 AV Results of the Parks Department’s internal inspections. PUTNAM 6 Steuben Playground MARCY 20 Dean Playground AV AV FY 2004 FY 2008 7 Washington Hall Park 100 21 underhill Playground 19 AV 35 HALSEY ST 8 Taaffe Playground 80 22 Stroud Playground 85% 88% 86% AV A 3 TLANTIC 78% 9 oracle Playground 60 ATUR ST 23 Mount Prospect Park AV DEC 20 40 10 Fort Greene Park Playground PACIFIC ST rated

cent parks

11 Parham Playground 24 20 * “acceptable” r Pe

12 Pratt Playground 25 Malls PROSPECT PL 0 ST MARK'S CD 35 Citywide

AV 13 Star Spangled Banner 26 Jackie Robinson Playground PARK PL AV

OY UNION ST 21 DEAN ST Playground TR o p e n s p a c e CD 35 Citywide AV

WA ST MARK'S AV 22 AV Y Number of community gardens per 1,000 acres 14 4 SHINGT S AD

AV CLASSON LEGEND nn DPR community gardens 3 ST 8 LINCOLN PL Vacant lot acreage 57 8,512

AV P

ON AV 1/4 Mile nn Other community gardens AV Percent vacant 3% 4% SCHENECT

ORK Y STERLING PL Council District Border nn DPR beaches * FLA 23 NOSTRAND NEW ST JOHN'S PL TBUSH AV h e a l t h New York City Department of State and federal parkland nn nn LINCOLN PL Number of hospital admissions per 10,000 residents: CD 35 Citywide AV AV

AV OGERS EASTERN PY

Parks and Recreation (DPR) R AV 25 nn City-owned vacant land 5 C Asthma 36 31 parks, playgrounds and 24 ARROLL ST

AV

FRANKLIN UNION ST Q DPR schoolyards-to- AV greenstreets PRESIDENT ST OY Diabetes 18 11 BEDFORD

TR

playgrounds sites W CARROLL ST ANY nn DPR natural areas AV

ALB 13 ST YN e d u c a t i o n CD 35 Citywide (Schoolyards-to-playgrounds is a citywide PlaNYC initiative OSPECT PK 26 OOKL PR MONTGOMER to open schoolyards to the public during afterschool hours.) 27 BR Y ST Percent fourth graders meeting standards in math 74% 81% SULLIVAN PL Wingate PR EMPIRE BL Percent fourth graders meeting standards in reading 54% 63% OSPECT

AV AV TS AV EAST NEW YORK LEFFER MAPLE ST 39 Prospect Lefferts Gardens 41

PROSPECT LAKE

Windsor Te rrace Tools for Action 38 40 Let your elected officials know how important parks are to you. City Council Member: Letitia James [email protected] Brooklyn Community Board 2 (718) 596-5410 * Brooklyn Community Board 3 (718) 622-6601 * 45 Brooklyn Community Board 8 (718) 457-5574 Prospect Park South Holy Cross Cemetery Brooklyn Community Board 9 (718) 778-9279 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 Commodore John Barry Park and Playground, Downtown Brooklyn

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 35 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 Christine Kaelin 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 Tim Francis 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 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 Lexington Avenue, 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