Gotham Gazette
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The Topic
Parks and Open Spaces refers to those areas set aside by the city, state, or federal government for public access and protection of natural resources. Issues relate to the creation, preservation, restoration, maintenance, and best use of these spaces.
The Context
With more than 27,000 acres of parks, playgrounds, beaches and other recreational areas, New York City has the largest city park system in the U.S. (Add to that a state park in every borough, the Gateway National Recreation Area and four botanical gardens.) Yet the city has fewer acres of green space per person than any other major American city, and many neighborhoods lack parks. Community gardens on vacant city lots -- there are more than 750 -- are often the only green oases in low-income, minority communities.

This Month's Article ...

Along with providing relief from concrete and places for reflection and recreation, parks offer an array of economic benefits and can even save taxpayers money.

Recent Parks Articles from the Gotham Gazette:

Good Parks Are Good for the Economy | Yankee Stadium Is Opening but Not the Parks | Budget Takes an Ax to Programs for Open Space | A Federal Stimulus for City Parks

Researching Parks ...

Yankees Owe Millions
A new report by Comptroller William Thompson Jr. found the Yankees underpaid the city $11 million in rent between 2003 and 2006. The team has agreed to pay the city back. During that same time period, the Yankees gross revenues totaled more than $1 billion, and it paid the city $17.1 million in rent. (November 10, 2008)

Rating Playgrounds, Courts and Fields
The city's playgrounds are in generally satisfactory shape, with little broken glass and their surfaces in acceptable condition, according to a new report by New Yorkers for Parks on city outdoor recreational facilities. The city's athletic fields did not fare as well with many "locked to the public without explanation." Many courts suffered from cracks and did not have the needed nets. (August 4, 2008)

New York’s Open Schoolyards Initiative: Will Artificial Turf Make it a Public Health Hazard?
In this paper, Tom Angotti, Paige Cowett and Shira Siegel consider the pros and cons of artificial turf and conclude that without evidence to confirm or deny the public health risks and cost effectiveness of artificial turf, the city could be endangering the health of New Yorkers. This is one in a series of working papers sponsored the Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development. (July 1, 2008)

Yankees Parkland
City and state officials promised that the new Yankees stadium in the South Bronx would result in more parkland for the area. But according to a new report by NYC Park Advocates, the area will actually lose four acres of parkland. The report says that nearly 60 percent of the space the city claims will be replacement parkland was already mapped as parks. Also lost, it says, is the funds promised for upkeep of the replacement parks. (May 23, 2008)

Preliminary Mayor's Management Report
An interim look at the performance of various city agencies was released yesterday in a report called the Preliminary Mayor's Management Report. Published annually, it takes a look at the city's performance in the first four months of the fiscal year and forecasts performance expectations. Much of the information can be broken down by individual agency, issue, or community. Some significant highlights were: Sewer back up complaints jumped by 23 percent; the average response time to heat complaints rose by 50 percent (although stays within the goal of seven hours); and major felony crimes in schools were nearly a third lower than the same quarter last year. (February 15, 2008)

Neighborhood Open Space Coalition
Among the areas covered by this longtime advocate for NYC open space are greenways, community gardens, parks, and Gateway National Park. Subscribe here free to the electronic Urban Outdoors Bulletin, an excellent source of park news.
Trust for Public Land
The Center for City Park Excellence of this national open space group supports the creation and improvement of city parks. It also conducts research into what makes a park successful and how parks add value to cities. TPL’s New York City office focuses on community gardens, school playgrounds, and open space protection.
New Yorkers for Parks
An independent parks watchdog for nearly a century, NY4P advocates for safe, clean, and well-maintained parks, playgrounds, and beaches. Look here for reports on park conditions and management and for political action to support parks.
City Parks Locator
Type in your address, and this parks department site will list all nearby parks, big and small, and show them on a map.
OASIS
A very useful interactive mapping site that lets you zoom in on a borough or neighborhood’s parks, community gardens, athletic fields, waterfront access sites, wetlands and many other categories of land use and obtain detailed information about specific sites. It is continually updated with new information, such as the recent addition of coastal storm impact zones.
TreesNY
This is the site for information on all things related to planting and caring for street trees in New York City, including tree guards, how to request a tree, youth forestry training, and citizen pruner courses.
Take a walk, New York
Sign up here for free one-hour guided walks in some of the city's great and far-flung parks and greenways, sponsored by the New York City Department of Health and the Neighborhood Open Space Coalition.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
Formerly the Brooklyn Bridge Park Coalition, this group has been working for 20 years to bring a world-class park on the Brooklyn waterfront. With the park close to becoming a reality, the conservancy sponsors activities and advocates for adequate funding and proper maintenance.
Community Garden Locator
The OASIS NYC open space mapping system allows users to find out where a particular garden is, or to look for gardens by zip code, borough, community board or neighborhood.
City Parks Foundation
An independent non-profit that supports New York City parks without access to private funding, the foundation sponsors free arts and sports programs and events, as well as nature and gardening education for children. It also encourages community involvement in parks through Partnership for Parks, run jointly with the parks department

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