Celebrating shared wins, planning for the year ahead
As a longtime New Yorker for Parks, you know parks are essential in our chaotic, divided world. Parks are the city’s lungs, spaces for recreation and respite, and a vital defense against climate change. When well-funded, they improve quality of life, strengthen communities, and boost the economy. Your support has secured historic wins for these vital spaces, but now our parks need you more than ever. Recent cuts have left NYC Parks with nearly 1,000 fewer staff, causing service disruptions, closures, and unsafe conditions citywide. |
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Today, I ask you to renew your support. Your contribution powers programming, research, and advocacy, helping us push for urgent budget restorations and a greener, more equitable future. In gratitude,
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Be a Parks Champion!
Growing the Daffodil (and Pollinator) Project
This year saw the Daffodil Project’s continued evolution from a beloved volunteer effort and living memorial into a stewardship and advocacy initiative that champions community groups, drives civic engagement and elevates parks funding needs.
At lively distributions we distributed over five hundred thousand daffodil bulbs and thousands of native seed packets. We heard from participants about the impact of budget cuts on the parks and community gardens they steward, continuing the conversation started on our online survey and offering ways to advocate.
For our inaugural Central Harlem distribution, we were joined by A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance, a local advocacy organization, as well as representatives from Manhattan Community Board 10 and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. Together we activated the space, conducting a park visioning survey, hosting a voter registration drive, sharing neighborhood parks data, distributing bulbs and pollinator seeds, and educating participants about their environmental benefits.
Our pollinator program is empowering New Yorkers to combat climate challenges. Partnering with NYC Parks, we created a proprietary blend of native seeds, which nurture ecosystems, prevent soil erosion, and support wildlife. In response to interest from thousands of participants, we plan to fully integrate pollinators, with our sights set on becoming NYC’s largest pollinator distributor.
Conducting New Research into Neighborhood Park Access
These park-starved districts are some of the lowest ranked for tree canopy, contributing to higher temperatures, poor air quality and exacerbated health issues. Our strategic recommendations underscore the need for increased canopy coverage in underserved communities to improve air quality, provide shade, and enhance livability and climate resilience.
Community engagement is central to our research. We repeatedly visited each district to understand the challenges residents are facing and collaborated with them on preferred, actionable solutions; from converting schoolyards to playgrounds to revitalizing neglected waterfronts and creating new open spaces through innovative urban planning.
Our findings serve as a powerful advocacy tool, equipping policymakers and community stakeholders with the data needed to drive meaningful change. By highlighting specific areas of need and presenting targeted recommendations, NY4P’s research lays the groundwork for increased funding and resource allocation, ensuring that park improvements are prioritized in communities that need them most.
Refining Play Fair Coalition Strategy
Play Fair’s mission has remained steadfast, and we’ve nimbly adjusted our tactics to adapt to a shifting political landscape.
Last year, we mobilized advocates to save 1,400 workforce development positions scheduled to be eliminated and reduced NYC Parks cuts by $35M. Building off the strengths of this campaign, we are reprioritizing our objectives and the strategies used to accomplish them. Central to this process has been the creation of three committees dedicated to policy, communications and organizing.
Following this restructuring, we've seen broader participation in decision making and action taking by coalition members, as well as a spike in the number of New Yorkers engaging with our public-facing work. In May we held our largest ever Play Fair rally in Union Square, with over 1,000 attendees gathering to celebrate parks and NYC Parks workers. Coalition members and elected officials gave rousing speeches and a dozen organizations tabled, sharing resources and educating attendees and passersby about parks funding needs.
Nearly 30,000 New Yorkers signed petitions and letters demanding investment in parks, plus a supermajority of council members and community boards. We have since adapted our messaging to meet the changing situation and launched a letter writing campaign to restore remaining NYC Parks cuts before the new year.
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Convening Parks Leaders at Our 2024 Annual Benefit
Our Annual Benefit, held this October at Tribeca 360, was a spirited evening uniting forward-thinking park champions around a vital mission: to support NYC’s parks and open spaces.
This year we honored two outstanding leaders, Jessica Tisch and Claire Weisz, and one outstanding institution, Brookfield Properties. We shared laughs with Master of Ceremonies Katie Honan and were inspired by Eric Klinenberg’s keynote on parks as social infrastructure.
The funds raised will support our advocacy, research, and programming year-round, as we expand our coalition and seek innovative solutions for a better parks system. We hope to see you next year for another night of community, celebration and shared purpose.
Advocate for Parks New Yorkers for Parks PO Box 431 New York, NY 10272 |
