Back in April, I took a look at the parks and open space section of the Mayor's PlaNYC report ( PlaNYC: There Oughta be a Park...Within a 10-Minute Walk of Every New Yorker ) and found some promising ideas that would help to green our neighborhoods and bring parkland to within a short walk of every New Yorker. Unfortunately, I also found a lack of answers as to how the city was going to fund and maintain this greener, growing city.
This is a big problem. Historically, the Department of Parks and Recreation's budget has been cut during the yearly city budget process. As a result, most parks have been short on much-needed maintenance workers and equipment. So a future in which the city has increased parkland but no new plans to address the annual funding issue is disconcerting.
Despite these difficulties, the Parks Department has managed since the 1980's to make our parks look better than ever, thanks to a mixture of management initiatives, free "welfare-to-work" laborers and a whole lot of reconstruction projects. Even better, this year Mayor Bloomberg is likely to increase the Parks Department's budget for the first time in many years!
It's a good thing, too, because a recently released report by the parks advocacy group New Yorkers for Parks found that conditions in our city's greenspaces have deteriorated over the past year. This Report Card on Parks has become widely known for its innovative methods for monitoring park conditions from a citizen's perspective. So what does it find? The report details increased graffiti, deteriorating playgrounds, and poorly maintained trees, natural areas and lawns. You can see how your neighborhood parks fared in their report by clicking here.
Unsurprisingly, the Parks Department has denied the report's findings in the press, saying that the city's parks get better every year. So what do you think? Have you found your local parks and playgrounds to be in good condition? Will the Mayor take these findings into consideration as he plans for the city's future? One can only hope.
