New Yorkers for Parks

Marine Park is a beautiful place, but it does not maintain itself! Our @NYCParks?workers?are the heart of clean, safe and thriving parks. Building on decades of chronic underfunding, many Parks Department positions have been lost and there are not enough?workers?to adequately care for the city's 1,700+ parks, playgrounds, and recreation facilities. Our parks and?workers?deserve better. Join the Play Fair for Parks Coalition at City Hall on March 20th at 12pm to demand the restoration of funding and positions in the FY26 budget! RSVP:?bit.ly/ParksRally320?

We applaud New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams for recognizing that #ParksPowerNYC, and for in turn demanding $79.7 million in this year's city budget to keep our parks safe, clean and vibrant for all New Yorkers. Parks and greenspaces are the heart of every neighborhood across New York City -- investing in parks means investing in thriving communities. After decades of disinvestment, we need bold action to fully fund NYC Department of Parks & Recreation and improve quality of life for all New Yorkers. ?? Rally for Parks with Play Fair on 3/17 at City Hall: https://lnkd.in/eea6ADKt ??

New York City budget season is in full swing, and the Play Fair for Parks Coalition is making sure our voices are heard! On Monday, March 17th at 12pm, we’ll be holding a rally with elected officials and advocates on the steps of City Hall ahead of the Parks & Recreation Preliminary Budget Hearing. Our message is clear: NYC must restore and grow the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation budget to ensure clean, safe, and accessible green spaces for all. We’re calling on NYC Office of the Mayor and New York City Council for funding to protect and expand our urban forest and tree canopy, ensure safety in our parks, invest in key community programs and restore critical parks jobs to improve our city’s green spaces and thereby New Yorkers’ quality of life. The more voices united, the more forcefully our demands will be heard. We need everyone’s support – in addition to joining the rally, you can get involved by testifying at the hearing which will take place directly after. If you’re planning to testify, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team for support! ??RSVP HERE: https://lnkd.in/eea6ADKt #ParksPowerNYC #RestoreOurParks #ProtectOurParks

NY4P is proud to co-sponsor the New York League of Conservation Voters' Environmental Candidate Forum for NYC Mayor on March 6th at NYU Skirball. Hear directly from mayoral candidates on critical issues such as clean energy, transportation, building decarbonization, parks, zero waste, and public health. We hope to see you there! Please RSVP by March 3:

Isaac, a trails operations coordinator with NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, is dedicated to helping New Yorkers access our city's natural areas and the benefits they provide. But NYC Office of the Mayor's short-sighted disinvestment has cut staffing, lowered morale, and hindered the agency's ability to properly manage for these vital spaces. #ParksPowerNYC

Inside Climate News spoke with advocates and electeds at last week's #PlayFair rally about the coalition's vision for a truly resilient NYC Parks system and the critical investments in parks staffing/programming missing from NYC Office of the Mayor's preliminary budget. “I’m telling you now, as we head into the budget negotiations, this City Council is making NYC Department of Parks & Recreation funding one of our top priorities,” said New York City Council Member Justin Brannan. “We’re going to fight like hell to get this done because it’s the right thing to do.”

Parks and greenspaces serve as the heart of every neighborhood across New York City and are essential to our quality of life. Last week, the Play Fair for Parks coalition – representing more than 400+ organizations across the city – rallied at the City Hall steps to demand that Mayor Adams fulfill his promise to properly fund our parks in order to improve neighborhoods in every corner of NYC. We unveiled our formal demands of the NYC Office of the Mayor and New York City Council – including the funding of 300 Parks Enforcement Patrol officer and Urban Park Ranger positions to ensure New Yorkers feel safe in our parks, and 224 forestry and natural areas positions to promote resiliency and protect New Yorkers from wildfires. Building on decades of chronic disinvestment and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation being forced to operate on an austerity budget, targeted budget cuts have depleted NYC Parks' resources in a time of great need – leading to program closures, staffing shortages and unsafe conditions. New Yorkers find this unacceptable. Parks are essential to quality of life, and all New Yorkers deserve access to safe, clean and beautiful greenspaces. Thanks to CM Justin Brannan, CM Alexa Aviles, CM Crystal Hudson, CM Keith Powers, CM Selvena Brooks-Powers, CM Mercedes Narcisse, CM Gale A. Brewer, CM Shaun Abreu, CM Erik Bottcher, AM Harvey Epstein and all of our partners for showing up to support our parks! #ParksPowerNYC

Watch longtime Play Fair member and filmmaker Play NYCe's documentation of last week's Rally for Parks, and check out his channel for short films highlighting neighborhood parks throughout NYC!

THANK YOU to the advocates, NYC Parks workers, New York City Council members and park-loving New Yorkers who braved the cold for our first #PlayFair rally of the year. We’re united in our call for NYC Department of Parks & Recreation budget restorations and a $95 million investment from NYC Office of the Mayor for urgently needed staffing and programs. #ParksPowerNYC. Thanks to our co-founders and coalition members New York League of Conservation Voters, District Council 37, Natural Areas Conservancy, Prospect Park Alliance, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Riverside Park Conservancy , City Parks Foundation, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance and many others. Watch coverage of the rally in Fox 5 (WNYW-TV New York) ??

??RALLY?? with NY4P, Natural Areas Conservancy, and hundreds of incredible #PlayFair orgs this Thursday, 1/23 at 10:30am on the steps of City Hall to call for overdue investment in NYC Department of Parks & Recreation for a fairer, more livable and resilient city. ??RSVP: https://bit.ly/3E2L5Sq