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The Parks Renaissance


Related Articles:
Chelsea: The Greening of the High Line

Inwood: Rowing on the River

The South Bronx: Going to the River

Brooklyn Heights-DUMBO: A Park Between the Bridges

Build Your Future Park

The plans might seem like science fiction -- making parks out of a garbage dump, abandoned railroad tracks, old gas tanks -- but they are real. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced his intention to convert the former Fresh Kills landfill into a 2,200-acre park. He negotiated an agreement with Keyspan to buy the site of the Elmhurst gas tanks and make it a neighborhood park. He endorsed the idea of greening the High Line, a 1.4-mile abandoned elevated track in Chelsea. (See story on plans for the High Line).

New York City is experiencing a renaissance in parks, and it is not just because of the mayor. Thanks to tens of thousands of park lovers, innovative parks and greenways are going up throughout the city and along the waterfront. At the same time, parks in neighborhoods that long had been ignored are being restored.

While some New Yorkers dream of making sports fields, esplanades and gardens out of underused islands and piers, former dumps and parking lots, others gleefully imagine the amazing parks and recreation facilities that would be built if the city wins its bid to play host to the 2012 Olympics.

Since 1991, the parks department has spent more than $1.6 billion in capital funding to fix up and build parks, and it is now developing plans for more spending over the next decade. The paradox of this unprecedented revival of the parks system in New York is that it is happening when the parks department has lost more than half of its full-time staff over the last 15 years; when its annual operating budget in the past decade has decreased by more than a third; when 20 percent of neighborhood park received a failing grade from the advocacy group New Yorkers for Parks. So how can there be so much park restoration and innovation at the same time that there is so little public funding for upkeep and when some parks still suffer from neglect?

CITIZEN SUPPORT

One answer is that New Yorkers have a sense of ownership of their public parks that simply did not exist 30 years ago. Some 60,000 New Yorkers have registered as park volunteers. Just under half of all the parks in the city now have their own support groups, made up of local people and organizations that raise money and serve as stewards and activists on behalf of the parks they have adopted.

Citizen involvement is, of course, the heart and soul of community gardens. Residents carved these patches of green from the rubble of abandoned lots and stood in front of bulldozers to save them. Some of the nearly 200 gardens spared in a 2002 settlement negotiated by state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer could eventually be added to the park system.

That same spirit that fostered community gardens is present among the residents and civic groups in downtown Brooklyn, who organized, educated, planned, lobbied and sued for 15 years to get a park on the waterfront -- and in the alliance that is aiming to string together new parks and greenways to bring the Bronx River and its waterfront back to life. (See related stories on Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Bronx River.)

PRIVATE FUNDING

Citizens are not doing this alone. Non-profit, community-based conservancies have been raising money to fix up and maintain -- and sometimes even manage -- major parks in Manhattan and some of the other boroughs. And this movement has revived and even created some small parks as well. The New York Restoration Project, for example, has brought in private money to create a boat house and other facilities at Swindler Cove park in upper Manhattan. (See related story on Swindler Cove)

The Bloomberg administration wants to take this private involvement even further. It has launched an unprecedented effort to attract private money for all kinds of public services, including parks. The parks department has established special funds -- or endowments -- to which people can donate to pay for the improvement or maintenance of specific gardens or other facilities. Individual private donations, some given in memory of people, helped build a $1 million maintenance endowment for the recently restored Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park, as well as for several smaller neighborhood parks.

Shortly after becoming mayor, Bloomberg suggested that the city might sell naming rights to facilities in the park. While critics complain this could commercialize the few remaining places where one can go to escape advertising, the initiative recently led to a $10 million gift from Carl Icahn for a track and field stadium on Randall's Island, part of a large planned recreational complex that will include 65 new and refurbished sports fields and a water park. The centerpiece of the complex will now be named Icahn Stadium.

At the same time that the city is exploring such controversial revenue-producing schemes, it wants to increase traditional corporate and foundation largesse. A program recently launched by the non-profit City Parks Foundation and Partnerships for Parks, using $25 million raised from corporations and foundations, focuses on improving 16 neighborhood parks in Harlem, Highbridge, Astoria and Red Hook. The city is committing some capital funding toward restoring these parks. The private funding pays for hiring community organizers and initiating activities like concerts, sports instruction and puppet shows in the parks. The overall aim is to build constituencies that will use, take care of and fight for their parks.

FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT

The parks department and park advocates have also sought help from different levels of government and an array of public agencies, opening the way to a wider range of expertise and funding. The alliance working on the Bronx River, for instance, includes almost a dozen government agencies, such as the city and state transportation and environmental agencies, the National Park Service and even the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

The city hopes that federal transportation dollars will continue to provide much of the funding to complete the 350 miles of greenways planned for the five boroughs. And the National Park Service, which manages historic forts on Governors Island, and a new city/state public corporation are collaborating on the planning of new parks on the island.

Another strategy involves the creation of independent city/state authorities. In 1998, Governor George Pataki created Hudson River Park Trust, a state-city partnership, to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain the large new part on Manhattan's West Side. The state and city have committed half of the $400 million cost of building the Hudson River Park.

In 2002, Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg formed the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation to create the new park on the downtown Brooklyn waterfront. To construct the park, the state committed $85 million to the project, and the city will provide $65 million.

COMMERCE IN THE PARKS

Once Brooklyn Bridge Park opens to the public, however, the source of funding will shift. Commercial activities, possibly including stores, restaurants and an amphitheater, are supposed to cover maintenance costs. A similar arrangement will support all of the city's part of Governors Island, which is slated for educational and recreational use, as well as the Hudson River Park.

This strategy, though, remains unproven. No one can be certain that the commercial development will generate enough income to maintain the parks. And, although cafes, sports facilities and other amenities can attract and entertain people, too many can overwhelm the park. "It's got to be at the right scale, the right balance, from a parks-first perspective, not a revenue-generating perspective," said Robert Pirani, director of environmental programs at the Regional Plan Association and the director of the civic coalition monitoring the development of a plan for Governors Island.

The parks department continues to seek new opportunities to attract parks-related businesses. Operators of these concessions, including golf courses, skating rinks, restaurants and catering halls, pay a fee to operate in the park and often must also pay for improvements to the facilities they run. "There are a number of odd corners where you can have an appropriate form of business that provides a service and generates funding," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. These could include marinas, ferry services, restaurants, boat rentals and sailing schools -- "stuff you see in the waterfronts of Chicago and other cities," he said.

Concession revenues do not go to the parks department, however, but to the city?s general fund. New Yorkers for Parks, the advocacy group, wants the parks department to keep its concession revenues -- as long as it also gets to keep its regular city funding as well.

But not all parks advocates agree. Depending so much on concessions, they say, could encourage the parks department to use public space for recreational activities that many people cannot afford. Dave Lutz, director of the Neighborhood Open Space Coalition, points out the parks devote a sizable amount of land to golf -- which costs a lot to play but generates concession income for the city -- when the city has a shortage of facilities for other sports.

Making a park available for special, private events also can produce revenue. This has been highly successful in Bryant Park. Although an assessment on nearby property owners originally paid for much of its restoration and maintenance, revenues from concessions and special events now cover all of the park?s annual operating costs. The downside, however, is during some events, such as Fashion Week, ordinary New Yorkers cannot use the public park.

WHAT GUARANTEES?

Unquestionably, both future and existing parks will rely on support from private individuals, organizations and businesses. But can private sources really provide New Yorkers with the park system they want -- and need?

The increasing importance of the private sector will not diminish the need for adequate public funding from the city, state and federal governments. On the contrary, as the parks department expands and improves facilities, it will need increased resources to meet the public's rising expectations. Faced with this, some parks advocates say parks need a steady, consistent source of funds. And so, they want the city to establish a so-called dedicated funding stream, such as a specific tax for green space, for the park system.

Whether such a guaranteed source of funds ever becomes a reality, some mix of public and private funds will be required for parks to thrive. Joseph Pupello, president of the New York Restoration Project, likens the park system of the future to a diversified portfolio with a mix of public parks, privately run parks and "parks that live in between." He said, "We have to keep inventing new partnerships and models that enable both the private sector and the municipal department to grow."

Certainly, private support will remain a key part of the equation. "There's no going back on the idea that these open spaces demand public-private partnerships of various kinds, whether they be community involvement or private commercial interests in parks supporting them," said David Rivel, executive director of the City Parks Foundation. "The future of parks is increasingly going to be about balancing those things."

 

The Parks Renaissance


Related Articles:
Chelsea: The Greening of the High Line

Inwood: Rowing on the River

The South Bronx: Going to the River

Brooklyn Heights-DUMBO: A Park Between the Bridges

Build Your Future Park

The plans might seem like science fiction -- making parks out of a garbage dump, abandoned railroad tracks, old gas tanks -- but they are real. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced his intention to convert the former Fresh Kills landfill into a 2,200-acre park. He negotiated an agreement with Keyspan to buy the site of the Elmhurst gas tanks and make it a neighborhood park. He endorsed the idea of greening the High Line, a 1.4-mile abandoned elevated track in Chelsea. (See story on plans for the High Line).

New York City is experiencing a renaissance in parks, and it is not just because of the mayor. Thanks to tens of thousands of park lovers, innovative parks and greenways are going up throughout the city and along the waterfront. At the same time, parks in neighborhoods that long had been ignored are being restored.

While some New Yorkers dream of making sports fields, esplanades and gardens out of underused islands and piers, former dumps and parking lots, others gleefully imagine the amazing parks and recreation facilities that would be built if the city wins its bid to play host to the 2012 Olympics.

Since 1991, the parks department has spent more than $1.6 billion in capital funding to fix up and build parks, and it is now developing plans for more spending over the next decade. The paradox of this unprecedented revival of the parks system in New York is that it is happening when the parks department has lost more than half of its full-time staff over the last 15 years; when its annual operating budget in the past decade has decreased by more than a third; when 20 percent of neighborhood park received a failing grade from the advocacy group New Yorkers for Parks. So how can there be so much park restoration and innovation at the same time that there is so little public funding for upkeep and when some parks still suffer from neglect?

CITIZEN SUPPORT

One answer is that New Yorkers have a sense of ownership of their public parks that simply did not exist 30 years ago. Some 60,000 New Yorkers have registered as park volunteers. Just under half of all the parks in the city now have their own support groups, made up of local people and organizations that raise money and serve as stewards and activists on behalf of the parks they have adopted.

Citizen involvement is, of course, the heart and soul of community gardens. Residents carved these patches of green from the rubble of abandoned lots and stood in front of bulldozers to save them. Some of the nearly 200 gardens spared in a 2002 settlement negotiated by state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer could eventually be added to the park system.

That same spirit that fostered community gardens is present among the residents and civic groups in downtown Brooklyn, who organized, educated, planned, lobbied and sued for 15 years to get a park on the waterfront -- and in the alliance that is aiming to string together new parks and greenways to bring the Bronx River and its waterfront back to life. (See related stories on Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Bronx River.)

PRIVATE FUNDING

Citizens are not doing this alone. Non-profit, community-based conservancies have been raising money to fix up and maintain -- and sometimes even manage -- major parks in Manhattan and some of the other boroughs. And this movement has revived and even created some small parks as well. The New York Restoration Project, for example, has brought in private money to create a boat house and other facilities at Swindler Cove park in upper Manhattan. (See related story on Swindler Cove)

The Bloomberg administration wants to take this private involvement even further. It has launched an unprecedented effort to attract private money for all kinds of public services, including parks. The parks department has established special funds -- or endowments -- to which people can donate to pay for the improvement or maintenance of specific gardens or other facilities. Individual private donations, some given in memory of people, helped build a $1 million maintenance endowment for the recently restored Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park, as well as for several smaller neighborhood parks.

Shortly after becoming mayor, Bloomberg suggested that the city might sell naming rights to facilities in the park. While critics complain this could commercialize the few remaining places where one can go to escape advertising, the initiative recently led to a $10 million gift from Carl Icahn for a track and field stadium on Randall's Island, part of a large planned recreational complex that will include 65 new and refurbished sports fields and a water park. The centerpiece of the complex will now be named Icahn Stadium.

At the same time that the city is exploring such controversial revenue-producing schemes, it wants to increase traditional corporate and foundation largesse. A program recently launched by the non-profit City Parks Foundation and Partnerships for Parks, using $25 million raised from corporations and foundations, focuses on improving 16 neighborhood parks in Harlem, Highbridge, Astoria and Red Hook. The city is committing some capital funding toward restoring these parks. The private funding pays for hiring community organizers and initiating activities like concerts, sports instruction and puppet shows in the parks. The overall aim is to build constituencies that will use, take care of and fight for their parks.

FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT

The parks department and park advocates have also sought help from different levels of government and an array of public agencies, opening the way to a wider range of expertise and funding. The alliance working on the Bronx River, for instance, includes almost a dozen government agencies, such as the city and state transportation and environmental agencies, the National Park Service and even the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

The city hopes that federal transportation dollars will continue to provide much of the funding to complete the 350 miles of greenways planned for the five boroughs. And the National Park Service, which manages historic forts on Governors Island, and a new city/state public corporation are collaborating on the planning of new parks on the island.

Another strategy involves the creation of independent city/state authorities. In 1998, Governor George Pataki created Hudson River Park Trust, a state-city partnership, to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain the large new part on Manhattan's West Side. The state and city have committed half of the $400 million cost of building the Hudson River Park.

In 2002, Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg formed the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation to create the new park on the downtown Brooklyn waterfront. To construct the park, the state committed $85 million to the project, and the city will provide $65 million.

COMMERCE IN THE PARKS

Once Brooklyn Bridge Park opens to the public, however, the source of funding will shift. Commercial activities, possibly including stores, restaurants and an amphitheater, are supposed to cover maintenance costs. A similar arrangement will support all of the city's part of Governors Island, which is slated for educational and recreational use, as well as the Hudson River Park.

This strategy, though, remains unproven. No one can be certain that the commercial development will generate enough income to maintain the parks. And, although cafes, sports facilities and other amenities can attract and entertain people, too many can overwhelm the park. "It's got to be at the right scale, the right balance, from a parks-first perspective, not a revenue-generating perspective," said Robert Pirani, director of environmental programs at the Regional Plan Association and the director of the civic coalition monitoring the development of a plan for Governors Island.

The parks department continues to seek new opportunities to attract parks-related businesses. Operators of these concessions, including golf courses, skating rinks, restaurants and catering halls, pay a fee to operate in the park and often must also pay for improvements to the facilities they run. "There are a number of odd corners where you can have an appropriate form of business that provides a service and generates funding," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe. These could include marinas, ferry services, restaurants, boat rentals and sailing schools -- "stuff you see in the waterfronts of Chicago and other cities," he said.

Concession revenues do not go to the parks department, however, but to the city?s general fund. New Yorkers for Parks, the advocacy group, wants the parks department to keep its concession revenues -- as long as it also gets to keep its regular city funding as well.

But not all parks advocates agree. Depending so much on concessions, they say, could encourage the parks department to use public space for recreational activities that many people cannot afford. Dave Lutz, director of the Neighborhood Open Space Coalition, points out the parks devote a sizable amount of land to golf -- which costs a lot to play but generates concession income for the city -- when the city has a shortage of facilities for other sports.

Making a park available for special, private events also can produce revenue. This has been highly successful in Bryant Park. Although an assessment on nearby property owners originally paid for much of its restoration and maintenance, revenues from concessions and special events now cover all of the park?s annual operating costs. The downside, however, is during some events, such as Fashion Week, ordinary New Yorkers cannot use the public park.

WHAT GUARANTEES?

Unquestionably, both future and existing parks will rely on support from private individuals, organizations and businesses. But can private sources really provide New Yorkers with the park system they want -- and need?

The increasing importance of the private sector will not diminish the need for adequate public funding from the city, state and federal governments. On the contrary, as the parks department expands and improves facilities, it will need increased resources to meet the public's rising expectations. Faced with this, some parks advocates say parks need a steady, consistent source of funds. And so, they want the city to establish a so-called dedicated funding stream, such as a specific tax for green space, for the park system.

Whether such a guaranteed source of funds ever becomes a reality, some mix of public and private funds will be required for parks to thrive. Joseph Pupello, president of the New York Restoration Project, likens the park system of the future to a diversified portfolio with a mix of public parks, privately run parks and "parks that live in between." He said, "We have to keep inventing new partnerships and models that enable both the private sector and the municipal department to grow."

Certainly, private support will remain a key part of the equation. "There's no going back on the idea that these open spaces demand public-private partnerships of various kinds, whether they be community involvement or private commercial interests in parks supporting them," said David Rivel, executive director of the City Parks Foundation. "The future of parks is increasingly going to be about balancing those things."

 

Federal Funding For City Parks


 

This year is the 40th anniversary of the federal Land and Water Conservation Act, a visionary mechanism for protecting the country's natural areas and enhancing state and local parks and recreation. Although most people have never heard of this source of federal funding, they have probably enjoyed its benefits when visiting a national park or wildlife refuge or a state or local park.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund has funded state and local park and recreation projects in almost every county in the nation and protected seven million acres of wilderness and wildlife habitat. The associated Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program has provided $230 million to local governments from 1978 to 2000 for park rehabilitation and maintenance and recreation programs in the inner cities.

Although New York state and city have not gotten as large a share of these funds as some other parts of the country, these two federal programs have helped pay for many of the parks and programs that New Yorkers know and love. According to Joshua Laird, chief of planning for the New York City Parks department, during the height of funding in the 1970s, the department received about five million dollars a year through the state grants program of the land and water fund.During this period, Urban Park and Recreation Recovery grants for New York City projects ranged up to $1.5 million a year. A $794,000 urban park grant in 1979 helped establish the Urban Park Rangers (Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe's first job at the department). More recently, the city received a $300,000 grant in 2000 to renovate the St. James Park House in the Bronx and a $1 million grant in 2002 to restoration the pavilion in Columbus Park in Lower Manhattan.

As important as these funding mechanisms are for protecting and maintaining the nation's natural and recreational space, they have often been accorded a low priority in Congress and the amount appropriated has fluctuated over the years. Spending from the two funds has almost never reached the level authorized, $900 million a year for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and $725 million over five years for Urban Park and Recreation Recovery. Most recently, the ballooning federal deficit has led to large cuts in appropriations from the funds.

HOW THE FUNDS WORK

Funded with the receipts from federal offshore oil and gas leases, the Land and Water Conservation Fund was meant to be a consistent, dedicated source of money for the country's land conservation and outdoor recreation needs. Urban Park and Recreation Recovery was supposed to direct federal assistance in a similar way to recreation facilities and programs in distressed urban areas. In reality, Congress appropriates money for the funds as part of the annual budget process, and land conservation and urban recreation compete for appropriations with every other discretionary domestic program.

Land and water funding is divided into two parts. One part goes to the federal land management agencies to purchase land for conservation and recreation. The other goes to the states, which must provide matching funds. The states then distribute grants for various state and local projects. In New York State, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation administers the grants. For Urban Park and Recreation Recovery grants, local governments apply to the National Park Service.

A BROKEN PROMISE

After minimally funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Urban Park and Recreation Recovery throughout most of the 1980s and 90s, in 2000 Congress enacted a landmark bipartisan agreement that promised to set aside an increasing amount of money each year for six consecutive years in a new, larger fund it called the Conservation Trust Fund. That fund was earmarked for spending on parks, recreation, and other conservation programs, including the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Urban Park and Recreation Recovery. By 2006, the land and water fund was supposed to be fully funded at its authorized level of $900 million.

But as the Bush administration turned a budget surplus of $238 billion in 2000 to the current deficit of $300 billion, the two funds lost out. In 2002, during behind-the-scenes budget negotiations, Congress reneged on its agreement and dismantled the Conservation Trust Fund. Funding for the land and water fund went from $573 million in FY2002 to $270 million in FY2004; urban parks went from $30 million to zero.

POTENTIAL FOR MORE FUNDING

The federal government supports other municipal needs, from education to transportation. Significant federal funding for parks would recognize the importance of parks to the economy and quality of urban life, as well as their role in supporting other national priorities, like education and health.

Even with a projected $500 billion deficit, Congress still finds money for a lot of projects. Land conservation and especially urban parks seem to be a low priority right now, but state governments, local advocates, and national groups are working to change that.

In March of 2003, New York State Governor George Pataki revived a task force he had set up 1998 to promote the importance of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in protecting the state's natural resources and outdoor recreation. New York State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro organized the support of the state's congressional representatives, all of whom signed a letter supporting higher appropriations for Land and Water Conservation Fund state grants and Urban Park and Recreation Recovery.

Conservation, recreation, and park groups, including Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation, The Trust for Public Land and the City Parks Alliance, are working to educate Americans about the importance of the federal land conservation and urban park programs and to get full funding for the larger Conservation Trust Fund.

Alan Front, Senior Vice President of the Trust for Public Land, noted that the two funds are not monolithic programs so much as a mosaic of the needs of hundreds of places. "In the picture of declining support, a huge bow wave is being created by needy, meritorious projects with a passionate constituency that desperately wants to see them done," he said. "If a constituency on the ground -- folks who are supporting individual projects -- recognize the importance of federal funding that can help protect those places, it can be a very powerful force."

Anne Schwartz is a freelance writer specializing in environmental issues. Previously, she was the editor of the Audubon Activist, a news journal for environmental action published by the National Audubon Society, and an editor at The New York Botanical Garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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