
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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Image credit: New York City Council.
On December 21, 2022, the City Council voted to approve three bills that would improve transparency with the Parks Department’s capital projects process and utilize small or micro spaces that can be used for beneficial green space. All three bills were sponsored by Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Chair of the Council Committee on Parks and Recreation. (more…)

The new Capital Planning Explorer website. Image Credit: NYC DCP
On December 20, 2021, the Department of City Planning announced the release of the new Capital Planning Explorer, an interactive website that builds on an existing map of city facilities with added details about all City-funded capital projects and geographic views of housing permits. The website’s goal is to make capital planning more transparent. (more…)

Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver Image Credit: John McCarten
After a seven-year tenue, Commissioner Mitchell J Silver is stepping down in the late spring or early summer of 2021. On March 9, 2021, the Department of Parks and Recreation announced the coming departure of their Commissioner, Mitchell J. Silver. Commissioner Silver has served as the Commissioner since May 2014. He is the fourth longest serving Commissioner of the Parks Department. Commissioner Silver spent his seven-year tenure reforming and updating the park system through over 800 different capital projects. (more…)

Live Panel Discussion Image Credit: Center for New York City Law
On September 12, 2019, the Center for New York City Law welcomed New Yorkers for Parks back to New York Law School for another installment of their Open Space Dialogues. The event was kicked off by Executive Director of New Yorkers for Parks Lynn B. Kelly, with welcoming remarks by Center for New York City Law’s Associate Director Brian J. Kaszuba, Esq. The topic of yesterday’s Open Space Dialogues was “Reconstructing the Capital Process.”
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