Democratic Mayoral Candidates Talk Parks Priorities

By Mark Chiusano

New York City’s parks are touchstones for all residents – including candidates for mayor. 

Among those 30,000 acres are “where my kids learned to walk,” said Comptroller Brad Lander, and where State Senator Zellnor Myrie biked and got a “reprieve” from his asthma. Former comptroller Scott Stringer’s children practically “live in the parks,” he said, summing up the prevailing view: “The way our parks will go will define how our city goes.”<Read More>


City Celebrates Office of Environmental Remediation’s Successful Cleaning of 165 Acres of Land, New Housing and Schools

On December 10, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the City, with the assistance of the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER), has transformed 165 acres of previously unusable contaminated land into clean space for 28,000 units of housing, 12,000 of which are affordable housing units, 16 new schools, 2.9 million square feet of community space, and 6.1 million square feet of commercial space.


City Announces Let’s Swim NYC, a $1 Billion Investment in City’s Pools

On June 18, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) Commissioner Sue Donoghue celebrated the launch of the Let’s Swim NYC program. The program provides citizens throughout the five boroughs with improved access to pools to protect them against the summer heat, and to offer New Yorkers the opportunity to learn about water safety.


Parks Adds “Second Shift” Dedicated Staff to Address Park Cleanliness on Evenings and Weekends

On March 20, 2023, the Parks Department announced that 240 new “second shift” employees had been recently hired to address park cleanliness issues on evenings and weekends. The new deployment of workers will operate on Thursdays through Sundays during evening hours to address trash, litter and graffiti at certain hotspots around the city. The staff’s efforts to clean up trash and litter will also serve as part of the city’s efforts to push back against <Read More>


City Announces Roadmap for Citywide Composting Program

The program expands on a Queens pilot program that diverted 12.7 million pounds of compostable material from landfills. On February 1, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch* revealed a new roadmap for the creation and implementation of a citywide composting program. The program will be the nation’s largest and will roll out over the next 20 months. 


City not liable for tree root injury

Man tripped on a sidewalk that was raised because of growing tree roots. On March 5, 2017, Konstantinos Gallis tripped and fell on a raised part of a sidewalk adjacent to 23-21 33rd Road, Queens. Tree roots had raised the sidewalk and allegedly caused the trip.