MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES OVER $425 MILLION IN NEW FUNDING FOR TRANSFORMATIVE COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE

 

Funding will rebuild or refurbish 10 community parks a year for the next 10 years, bringing the total number of CPI sites to 167

 Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff today announced an investment of $425.5 million in new funding over the next 10 years in the Community Parks Initiative. The Community Parks Initiative redesigns and rebuilds community parks neglected by previous administrations, focusing on high-density, low-income areas and parks that have seen less than $250,000 in investment over the past 20 years. Since launching in 2014, CPI has fully reimagined 67 parks – 62 of which are already open to the public. This additional funding will result in 10 new CPI sites a year for the next 10 years.  

 

“Our recovery must focus on communities historically left behind, and the Community Parks Initiative is a great example of how to do just that,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This $425 million investment will improve open space in communities across the five boroughs for years to come. I want to thank Commissioner Fialkoff and everyone at NYC Parks for prioritizing equity in their stewardship of our incredible parks system.”

 

“With nearly a billion dollars invested in underserved community parks and hard hit COVID neighborhoods through the Community Parks Initiative, Mayor de Blasio’s equity legacy will live on for generations. We have changed the way we approach neighborhood parks, with renewed focus on equity, community, and partnership,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff. “CPI has touched the lives of more than a half a million New Yorkers already, by transforming 67 parks that had been overlooked for decades. With this commitment to fund an additional 100 new CPI sites over the next ten years, we are making permanent our City’s commitment to a fair and equitable park system.”

 

NYC Parks will engage community residents in CPI zones to help design these park projects by joining community input sessions. At these open, public events, New Yorkers engage with Parks designers to share their visions for how their neighborhood parks should be transformed. Additionally, Partnerships for Parks works with existing and new stakeholders around CPI capital sites with the goal of cultivating community partners at every capital project site to sustain reconstructed parks. Since CPI’s inception, NYC Parks and Partnerships for Parks have engaged nearly 54,000 volunteers in 2,000+ stewardship projects in CPI neighborhoods.

 

The first 10 community parks to be rebuilt and revitalized are listed below. All 10 are in Task Force for Racial Inclusion and Equity prioritized neighborhoods:

 

The Bronx:

Chief Dennis L. Devlin Park   

Pontiac Playground  

Horseshoe Playground 

 

Brooklyn:

Jerome Playground 

Marc and Jason’s Playground

 

Manhattan:

Anibal Aviles Playground

Detective Omar Edwards Park

William McCray Playground

 

Queens:

Hoffman Park

 

Staten Island:

Lt. Lia Playground