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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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. (read more…)

Mayor Bill de Blasio. Image credit: CityLand

The de Blasio administration furthers efforts to create more public park space for the North Brooklyn community. On October 31, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he will allocate $17.5 million for the development and remediation of two parcels of parkland at Bushwick Inlet Park. $7.7 million of the allocated funds will go towards developing the 50 Kent site into a new park while the remaining $9.8 million will go toward the remediation and development of two parcels of parkland at the Motiva site.

Last year, the City purchased the final parcel of land needed for the total acquisition of the park site. Since then, 3.5 acres have been completed and the park has been opened to the public. Currently, the park has a multi-purpose field and an environmentally-friendly building for community activities and incorporates both natural and urban elements of the surrounding community. (read more…)