A $20 million NYC park project is facing criticism as it remains largely unused due to safety concerns and poor planning.
At a Glance
- A recently completed $20 million park and dog run in NYC is largely deserted
- Safety concerns, including visible homelessness and drug activity, deter visitors
- The project has sparked backlash against city planners and public fund management
- Critics question if the money could have been better spent on improving public safety or existing parks
NYC Parks Face Chronic Underfunding
New York City’s parks are grappling with severe budget constraints, impacting their ability to maintain green spaces and provide essential services. The Parks Department, responsible for 14% of the city’s land, receives a mere 0.6% of the total budget. This chronic underfunding has led to a reliance on volunteer groups and park conservancies to fill gaps typically covered by Parks staff.
The Play Fair Coalition is advocating for an increase in the Parks Department budget to 1% of the city’s total budget. However, Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed budget cuts would further reduce funding by $54.5 million and eliminate over 600 jobs, exacerbating an already dire situation.
Impact on Park Maintenance and Safety
The budget shortfall has led to a decline in routine maintenance, invasive species control, and the ability to manage heavy rainfall impacts. In Van Cortlandt Park, volunteers are combating invasive water chestnuts in the main pond, a task that should ideally be handled by park staff. The situation has become so dire that the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance has had to purchase toilet paper for park restrooms.
“The smell is really getting to me today,” said Gina Lauria, 24, a trail technician with the alliance.
Similar issues plague other NYC parks. The Riverside Park Conservancy now operates with only 25% of the staff it had 50 years ago. Smaller neighborhood parks, like Morningside Park, rely heavily on volunteer groups for upkeep. This lack of professional maintenance not only affects the parks’ aesthetics but also raises concerns about public safety.
Sara D. Roosevelt Park: A Case Study in Decline
The Sara D. Roosevelt Park, located between Manhattan’s Lower East Side and Chinatown, exemplifies the challenges faced by NYC parks. Once a vibrant community center offering activities like chess, Ping-Pong, and movie screenings, the park has fallen into disrepair. The park house, formerly a hub of community activity, has been converted into storage space for equipment and supplies.
“The kids really had nowhere to play,” said Bob Humber, 86, who was a youth worker in the 1970s. “They had no other place. They loved that place.”
The park’s decline mirrors broader issues in NYC, including crime, drug problems, and homelessness. The boarded-up windows of the park house and fenced-off areas intended to deter illicit activities have transformed the space from a community asset into a symbol of urban decay.
The Need for Investment in Urban Green Spaces
Parks play a crucial role in climate resilience, public health, and quality of life. However, their effectiveness is severely limited by insufficient funding. Activists and park conservancies stress the need for consistent investment to maintain and improve NYC parks, especially in lower-income communities that often only have access to smaller green spaces.
“There really isn’t an area of the agency that hasn’t already been impacted and wouldn’t be impacted more by these budget cuts,” said Adam Ganser, executive director for New Yorkers for Parks. “The city has really been operating the Parks Department on an austerity budget for 40 years.”
As New York City faces increasing urbanization and density, the importance of welcoming community spaces cannot be overstated. The $20 million park project that now stands largely unused serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of poor planning and inadequate funding. It’s clear that without proper investment and maintenance, even well-intentioned projects can fail to serve their communities effectively.
