
The new play equipment at Saw Mill Playground in Mott Haven. Image Credit: NYC Parks Department
The playground provides new community amenities and improves the health of the Harlem River. On June 7, 2019, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced the completion of an $8 million upgrade to Saw Mill Playground in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. The playground is located on East 139th Street between Brook and Willis Avenues. (more…)

Cas Holloway
Cas Holloway, as commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, is responsible for protecting the City’s environment. This includes ensuring that clean drinking water from upstate aqueducts reach the City’s 950,000 buildings and that the City’s 14,000 miles of water and sewer mains remain in good working order. The agency also plays a major role in implementing PlaNYC by promoting the use of modern, “green” infrastructure.
Holloway joined the Department of Parks and Recreation under Commissioner Henry J. Stern after graduating from Harvard College in 1996 with a degree in government. After spending a year generating private sponsorships for parks, Stern named Holloway as his chief of staff.
Two years later, Holloway enrolled at the University of Chicago Law School, earning his law degree in 2002. He began his legal career as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and then served as a clerk for Judge Dennis G. Jacobs, now Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Holloway later joined Debevoise & Plimpton where he focused on corporate litigation and regulatory investigations. (more…)

New catch basins help capture storm water to help prevent flooding. Image Credit: DDC/DEP.
On July 12, 2023, NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala, Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner Thomas J. Foley, and Deputy Mayor of Operations Meera Joshi announced the completion of a $54 million project to install new storm sewers along 3rd Avenue in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The mile-long storm sewers along Third Avenue are located between Carroll and State Streets and from 3rd to 4th Avenues for each of the east/west streets between Carroll and State Streets. The project will reduce roadway flooding and pollution discharged into the Gowanus Canal during rainstorms. (more…)

The newly completed tennis courts at the Jackie Robinson Park Playground. Image Credit: NYC DEP.
On June 23, 2023, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Parks Department, and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced the completion of newly renovated tennis courts at Jackie Robinson Park in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The DEP-funded project necessitated $1,000,000 in capital and involved painting the courts vibrant purple and blue colors, upgrading them with new surfacing and nets, and installing green infrastructure. (more…)

Image Credit: Department of Environmental Protection
On June 1, 2023, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced the results of the water bill amnesty program following the program’s end on May 31st. The water bill amnesty program allowed New Yorkers with outstanding water bills to pay a portion or whole of the owed principal of the water bill to have the outstanding interest forgiven. (more…)