💡Eric Klinenberg’s (@eric.klinenberg ) “Social Infrastructure is Essential Infrastructure: How Public Spaces Make the Affordable, Joyful City Possible” shows how fully funded @NYCParks can act as catalysts for civic life, public health and community wellbeing.
✍️Sign the petition at the link in bio calling on @NYCMayor and @NYCCouncil to make critical investments in a resilient and connected parks system.
The Play Fair for Parks Coalition today responded to Mayor Mamdani’s FY27 Executive Budget. Coalition leaders applauded the administration’s addition of $15 million in baselined annual investments for @NYCParks , while noting the continued need for additional funding to cover the extremity of staffing losses under the previous administration.
Statement from Play Fair Co-Founders, New Yorkers for Parks (@NY4P ) Executive Director Adam Ganser and New York League of Conservation Voters (@NYLCV ) President Julie Tighe:
“The Play Fair Coalition applauds Mayor Mamdani for recognizing the importance of investing in New York City’s parks system in his executive budget. This $15 million commitment of permanent funding for NYC Parks workers is a meaningful step toward reversing years of underinvestment and following through on the mayor’s pledge to increase Parks Department spending to 1% of the City budget by the end of his term. It reflects real progress towards a more livable city for all New Yorkers where parks are prioritized as essential, affordable infrastructure. That said, given the severity of staffing losses under the previous administration, we also continue to call on the mayor to make additional urgent investments and baseline 100 Parks Enforcement Patrol and GreenThumb staff who will lose their jobs at the end of June. We look forward to working with the administration and City Council to ensure sustained support for our parks workforce and the resources needed to maintain safe, clean, and accessible green spaces in every neighborhood across the five boroughs.”
At today’s Fort Greene-Navy Yard Walk & Talk, NY4P, @fortgreenepark and local partners convened Brooklynites to learn about open space wins, challenges and opportunities in Fort Greene and around the Navy Yard.
Elected officials and community advocates led the tour from Fort Greene Park to Commodore Barry Park to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, highlighting open streets, NYCHA community gardens, greenways, planned capital improvements, and new public spaces at BPL and the Navy Yard along the way.
Parks and open spaces must be prioritized in this rapidly growing community home to 12k NYCHA residents and new residential developments straining the limited resources of existing open spaces.
We must restore budget cuts and fully fund @nycparks to ensure the parks and open spaces New Yorkers rely on are safe, clean, equitable, accessible and connected.
Take action at bit.ly/fundparksnow (link in @ny4p bio)
Thanks to partners @jabaribrisport , @pharaforassembly , @chudchud , @shaquanaforbrooklyn , @reynoso.brooklyn , @fortgreenepark , @nychagram , @friendsofcommodorebarrypark , @bkcb02 , @bklynlibrary , @bkgreenway , @nycgreenways , @communityfundnyc , @nylcv .
Special thanks to @conedison for supporting the Walk & Talk series!
We’re so grateful to everyone who participated in the 2025 #DaffodilProject!
Every year thousands of New Yorkers blanket our city in joyful yellow blooms during this historic volunteer effort and living memorial. It’s a chance for neighbors to connect, steward the shared spaces that build community, and advocate for a more vibrant parks system.
If this initiative means something to you, consider making a gift to support NY4P at the link in bio.
This fall marks the Daffodil Project’s 25th anniversary! Sign up for our mailing list at bit.ly/ny4p-news to learn about registration in August and bulb distributions in the fall.
Motiva is open.
For the first time in living memory, our community has shoreline access to the Bushwick Inlet, the namesake of Bushwick Inlet Park.
This is a true milestone that is hard-won, long overdue, and worth celebrating. We’re eternally grateful to our partners at @nycparks , who should be proud of delivering this waterfront beauty.
It’s also a sign that *things are moving*. In recent weeks, dozens of citywide open space organizations and hundreds of you signed our petition and joined our call to make finishing this park a citywide priority.
City Hall is listening: not just in Motiva opening last week, but in a mayoral visit to tour the unfinished parcels (note: this is the first time since 2021 that a sitting mayor visited Bushwick Inlet Park!). We want to thank Council Member Lincoln Restler for making this happen. 🙏🙏🙏 @cmrestler
A visit from Mayor Mamdani matters, and here’s why: Bushwick Inlet Park will not be completed without mayoral leadership to cut through its deep complexities and move it forward.
We can strike one of our asks: Motiva is now open.
But the park is far from finished: with Motiva’s two new acres, just 8.5 of 27.3 acres are accessible. The majority of the park remains closed with no clear timeline for the remaining 18+ acres.
As the City considers adding nearly 2,000 new housing units abutting this park, we need a clear path to finish the park…. before moving forward with additional density alongside acres of land that remains largely inaccessible.
Today, we celebrate Motiva; tomorrow, we keep pushing for completion of the remainder of the park.
👀 @nycmayor@nycmayorsoffice
🙏 Thank you to the orgs who have joined our call: @ny4p@nylcv@trustforpublicland@mas_nyc@bkgreenway@openplansnyc@naturalareasnyc@waterfrontalliance@riverkeeper@billionoyster@seaweed_city@nycfootyofficial@brooklynbrewery@wythehotel@thewilliamvale@bankersanchor@northbrooklyndogs@nbkopenstreets@friendsofcooperpark_@mccarrendogallies@nycsoccerleague
NY4P had a blast at @greenthumbnyc ’a annual GrowTogether Conference this weekend!
It was great to connect with New Yorkers and table alongside peer organizations (many of them Play Fair Coalition members) working to improve @nycparks , community gardens and open spaces.
NY4P will join @greenthumbnyc ’s GrowTogether Conference this Saturday, May 2nd from 10:30am-3pm at the CUNY Graduate Center (365 5th Ave).
Link in @greenthumbnyc bio to register and learn about the day’s program, including panels, workshops and film screenings.
We’re excited to connect with park-loving New Yorkers and table alongside fellow advocates and organizations focused on urban agriculture, climate and sustainability.
See you there!
NYC’s newly released Urban Forest Plan charts a path to 30% canopy coverage by 2030, prioritizing EJ neighborhoods.
Trees keep us cool, capture carbon and stormwater, and promote biodiversity. Investing in @NYCParks is critical to caring for the trees we have and planting more where they’re needed most.
NY4P is a proud member of the @forestforallnyc coalition which helped shape this report. Thanks to fellow Play Fair Coalition members @naturalareasnyc , @nature.ny and @cpfnyc their contributions and advocacy.
