MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES 11 SITES ADDED TO COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE

NYC Parks�� Community Parks Initiative will now fully reconstruct 67 total sites �C reaching 500K New Yorkers who live within a short walk of one of these parks

  Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, announced the next  set of parks added to the Community Parks Initiative portfolio �C the City��s first major parks equity initiative investing $318 million to revitalize everyday community parks that have received less than $250,000 over the past 20 years. With 67 park sites to receive full reconstruction with the additional 11, CPI is one of the largest data-driven park equity programs in the nation, with 500,000 New Yorkers within a short walk of one of the parks.

��When we talk about improving parks in New York City, we��re really talking about improving the lives of New Yorkers,�� said Mayor Bill de Blasio. ��The Community Parks Initiative focuses on parks and neighborhoods that have faced the most historic disinvestment and serve dense, growing populations �C so every New Yorker can be proud of their neighborhood park.��

"Since 2014, the Community Parks Initiative has brought New Yorkers together to improve their parks and playgrounds - and in doing so, to strengthen their communities.  With the addition of eleven more parks to the program, thousands more will now have the opportunity to reimagine and rebuild their most precious resource: their shared public space," said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP.

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, CPI is a multi-faceted investment in the neighborhood/local parks that are located in New York City��s densely populated and growing neighborhoods where there are higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. CPI is NYC Parks' first major equity initiative and part of the Mayor��s OneNYC: The Plan for a Strong and Just City.

Entering the design process this fall, the 11 parks bringing the CPI portfolio total to 67 are:

Bronx

��         Prospect Playground

��         Mapes Ballfield

Brooklyn

��         Bartlett Playground

��         Lewis Playground

��         Penn Triangle

Manhattan

��         Bill Bojangles Playground

��         Harlem Lane Playground

��         Joseph C. Sauer Park

��         Playground One

Queens

��         Chappetto Square

Staten Island

��         Mariners Harbor Playground

Newly reconstructed CPI parks began opening ahead of schedule this summer �C five across Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, from the initial 35 announced in 2014: twelve sites will be open by the end of 2017 and the balance in 2018. The 12 parks announced in 2015 are in procurement, and are expected to enter construction in 2018; and the nine announced in 2016 will enter procurement next year. The final 11 parks, entering design next month, are expected to be completed in winter 2020/21.

Additionally, CPI receives capital program support for many of these sites from DEP, which has committed $50 million in funding for the construction of green infrastructure installations. The green infrastructure will manage the precipitation that falls on the parks, and some of the surrounding streets, keeping it out of the combined sewer system and helping to reduce combined sewer overflows that sometimes occur during heavy rainfall. New York City has the most ambitious and aggressive green infrastructure program in the nation, with thousands of installations currently under construction across the city. In addition to managing stormwater, green infrastructure helps to improve air quality while also providing shade and lowering summertime temperatures. In addition, CPI parks has also received support from city and state elected officials, sister agencies including HPD, as well as Parks-related conservancies and private developers.  

In addition to CPI��s capital investment in neighborhood parks, the initiative has an impact on these neighborhoods through community partnership building, park programming, enhanced sustainability, and operating support. Through funding from the City Council, in-kind donations from park conservancies; and community engagement �� through partners including City Parks Foundation, New York Road Runners,  the Uni Project and El Museo del Barrio �� resources are allocated across critical categories including community outreach, recreational programming, green infrastructure, and park maintenance.

For additional information on the Community Parks Initiative, please visit nyc.gov/parks .