Cadman Plaza Park, Brooklyn, almost completely empty on a sunny spring day. Image Credit: CityLand

Team sports are prohibited and recreation centers are currently closed to the public, but parks remain open. City and State governments continue the fight to control the spread of the coronavirus, instituting policies to encourage and enable as many people to stay at home as possible. Understanding the challenges of asking citizens to spend as much time as possible indoors as the weather continues to improve, the City aimed to keep City parks open as an outlet for physical exercise. (more…)

Image credit: NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

Upgrades were designed with community input. On February 25, 2020, the Parks Department announced the beginning of a reconstruction project of Hart Playground in Woodside, Queens. Hart Playground is located on the block between Broadway to the north, 37th Avenue to the south, 65th Street to the west and 69th Street to the east.  (more…)

Art vendor in Manhattan. Image Credit: CityLaw

Parks’ rules limited where vendors of expressive material could sell their wares in City parks. The Parks Department adopted “Expressive Matter Vending Rules” which restricted the sale of “materials or objects with expressive content, such as newspapers, books, or writings, or visual art such as paintings, prints, photography, or sculpture.” The new rules limited the sale of expressive materials to 100 specifically designated spots in Union Square Park, Battery Park, High Line Park, and Central Park. The spots would be available on a first-come, first-serve basis with only one vendor per spot. (more…)

Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver Image Credit: John McCarten

Other agencies still missing from Council’s hearing on Park’s capital process. On November 12, 2019, the City Council’s Committee on Parks, Committee on Contracts, and Subcommittee on Capital Budget held a joint oversight hearing titled “Improving the Efficiency of Parks Department Capital Projects.” The hearing was chaired respectively by Council Members Peter Koo, Ben Kallos and Vanessa L. Gibson. This hearing was held in order to create a dialogue about the state of the capital process. In Fiscal 2020, the Parks Department has 619 active capital projects and anticipates spending almost $2.7 billion. These numbers have steadily increased since Fiscal 2016.

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Elected officials and local residents cut the ribbon on Parque de los Niños after a $4.35 million reconstruction project. Image Credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila

Reconstruction project cost $4.35 million and features a new track and ballfields. On August 13, 2019, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced the reopening of Parque de los Ninos, located on the corner of Morrison Avenue and Watson Avenue in the Soundview section of the Bronx. Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, was joined by Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., New York State Assembly Member Marcos A. Crespo, New York City Council Member Ruben Diaz Sr, members of Bronx Community Board 9 and local residents to celebrate the reopening of the playground. (more…)