Central Park. Image Credit: Google Maps.

The website provides information on the City’s 1,700 parks including park amenities and maintenance funding. On May 24, 2019, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and the City Council announced the launch of an interactive map of the City’s public parks. The map can be accessed on the Council’s Parks in NYC page, offering information on the City’s 1,700 parks including the location of 2,856 playgrounds, 557 basketball courts, 546 handball courts, 34 running tracks, 69 barbecue areas,112 food concessions, 136 dog runs, and 95 pools. The page also provides information on events taking place in parks across the five boroughs within the next 14 days. The information for the amenities locations and events locations can also be viewed as a list. (more…)

Malcolm Pinckney/NYC Parks

The $30 million reconstruction project brings brand new amenities to the historically underserved Brownsville park. On March 19, 2019, Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, Brooklyn Community Board 16, and local students and residents broke ground on the reconstruction of Betsy Head Park in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Betsy Head Park’s reconstruction is one of the five projects of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Anchor Parks Initiative, a $150 million project to reconstruct five major parks around the City. The project plans to bring major amenities to the parks such as new soccer fields, comfort stations, running tracks, and hiking trails. (more…)

Lynn Kelly, New Yorkers for Parks Executive Director addresses audience at Open Space Dialogue Series at New York Law School. Image Credit: CityLand.

On October 9, 2018, New York Law School hosted New Yorkers for Parks for their Open Space Dialogues: Parks & Transportation. The event was kicked off by Joel Steinhaus, Chairman of New Yorkers for Parks, who was introduced by Executive Director Lynn Kelly. Mr. Steinhaus began by welcoming everyone to the second year of Open Space Dialogues, with the focus of this year’s dialogues on parks, open space and the public realm. He stated that New Yorkers for Parks has been the “City’s independent champion of quality open space for all New Yorkers, across all five Boroughs; Well- maintained open spaces foster dialogue, support congregation and free expression, and are a critical component of democracy.” The focus of last night’s Open Space Dialogue was on the “intersection of parks and transportation”.

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About the Event

Open Space Dialogues: Parks & Transportation is the kickoff panel of the 2018-2019 Open Space Dialogues series. Expect an evening of provocative presentations created by New Yorkers for Parks and New York Law School. Leaders of the city’s public realm will share and respond to ideas about the spaces New Yorkers hold in common, answering questions like:

-How can transportation system improvements yield more open spaces?

-What opportunities does a transit crisis present for change in the public realm?

-What does the future of public realm inter-agency and public-private partnership cooperation look like? (more…)

Lynn Kelly. Image credit: New Yorkers for Parks.

New York City holds a special place in Lynn Kelly’s life. Ms. Kelly grew up in Old Town, Staten Island, has resided in Brooklyn’s Park Slope and now in Gowanus, and attended New York University in Greenwich Village. In reflecting on her life and career, Ms. Kelly said that “New York City has been the one thread through everything.” Ms. Kelly has dedicated her career to improving the City one job at a time. Currently, Ms. Kelly serves as the Executive Director at New Yorkers for Parks, an independent advocacy organization championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all City neighborhoods. (more…)