Green Giant: Grodenchik Leads Rally for More Parks Funding

Councilmember Barry S. Grodenchik led a City Hall rally to demand more money for Queens’ and the rest of the city’s parks and green spaces. Photo courtesy of Councilmember Barry S. Grodenchik’s office.

By Jonathan Sperling

Nearly 200 New Yorkers joined Councilmember Barry S. Grodenchik, chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee, to demand more money for city parks and green spaces on Thursday.

The coalition also unveiled Play Fair, a campaign to improve the quality of city parks and green spaces, address climate change and create green jobs.

“For more than a generation, parks have been shortchanged in the city budget,” Grodenchik said. “Across our city, in all five boroughs, in every neighborhood, parks are the places where New Yorkers play, exercise, and breathe fresh air, the places where we clear our minds, rejuvenate our bodies, and refresh our spirits."

Grodenchik noted that despite parkland comprising 14 percent of all city land, the Parks Department received only 0.59 percent of the city budget in FY19. The Parks Department has not received at least 1 percent of the city’s budget since the 1970s.

The Play Fair Coalition said an investment of $100 million — or 0.1 percent of the proposed city budget — would unlock new possibilities for green spaces in Queens and across the city.

For example, $4 million would give every neighborhood in the city more seasonal afterschool programs and movie nights, according to the coalition. Another $65 million would provide funding for parks of all sizes to have full-time, dedicated staff to help keep spaces “clean and green.”

“For more than a generation, parks have been shortchanged in the city budget,” Grodenchik said. “Across our city, in all five boroughs, in every neighborhood, parks are the places where New Yorkers play, exercise, and breathe fresh air, the places where we clear our minds, rejuvenate our bodies, and refresh our spirits. Since taking on the role of parks chair last year, I have visited over a hundred parks in over two thirds of the council districts across the city and have seen that while our parks department does an outstanding job with current funding, parks need more resources to be as clean, safe, and well maintained as they should be.