NYC Council Outlines the State of Support for City Parks

The New York City Council Committee on Parks and Recreation held a hearing on the Fiscal Year 2026 Preliminary Budget. Ahead of the hearing, the Council outlined the state of financial support for New York City parks over the years, how City finances influence parks maintenance and quality, and recommended solutions.

In the Fiscal Year 2025 adopted budget, the Council secured $15 million to enhance and restore funding for Second Shift maintenance and cleaning positions at hot spots in city parks and restored $8.7 million to support Urban Park Rangers, Tree Stump Removal, and Green Thumb Restoration. The Administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 Preliminary Plan does propose an additional $12.4 million to fund second shift cleaning positions at 100 more hot spots but it lacks funding for several other vital programs that have been funded in previous years.

Read the full brief here.

Highlights include:

• Last year’s PEG reduced Parks spending by 5%, and in conjunction with FY25 budget reductions, this resulted in about 800 potential job vacancies that can no longer be filled.
• Prior to assuming office, Mayor Adams pledged to increase DPR funding by moving to allocate 1% of the city budget to Parks. However, current funding only equals .6% of the city budget – a percentage that has remained stagnant throughout his three years as mayor. Compared to other major US cities, New York allocates much less to Parks.
• The Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report (PMMR) found the Parks Department completed 35 capital projects in the first four months of FY25, compared to 56 projects completed during the same period in FY24. This means less infrastructure improvements to city parks are being completed.
• The Parks Department is one of the slowest agencies to respond to 311 calls, with the third lowest resolution satisfaction score of all reported agencies who receive 311 calls.