One Brooklyn
October 22, 2020
Brooklyn, NY – Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams released his testimony to the City Council’s Committee on Parks and Recreation for its hearing on “Improving the Equity of Greenspace Throughout the City in Light of the COVID-19 Epidemic.”
In his testimony, Borough President Adams laid out concrete proposals that would improve access and equity to greenspace for Brooklynites and New Yorkers. He also noted the important physical and mental health benefits associated with parks and greenspaces, which are especially critical amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant mental health impacts. Many of the same neighborhoods that bore the brunt of the pandemic — predominantly Black and Brown communities — also lack easy access to greenspace, exacerbating many of the health inequities that gave rise to the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 in the first place.
“Parks are the lungs of our city. We have seen how vital they are as a respite for New Yorkers during the COVID-19 pandemic, as parks attendance has soared, and people have discovered all that these public spaces have to offer. But just as COVID-19 underscored the deep disparities that exist in our health care system, it has also exposed unequal access to the city’s greenspaces, which promote physical and mental wellness. My testimony today provides a path to ensure all New Yorkers, and especially those in underserved Black and Brown communities, can enjoy and take full advantage of these natural treasures,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
Borough President Adams, who released a report in 2018 entitled “The Pulse of Our Parks: An Assessment of Brooklyn’s Open Space,” proposed the following steps to ensure more equitable access to parks:
Expansion of Existing Programs:
- Prioritize investments under the Community Parks Initiative in neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19 such as Brownsville, East New York, Sunset Park, and Bensonhurst and other underserved communities throughout New York City. Creating these spaces is integral to encourage physical activity, improve air quality, and utilize green infrastructure to enhance neighborhood inclusion.
- Transform underused spaces while making parks more accessible in the hardest-hit neighborhoods, as streets and parks make up 40 percent of the public realm throughout the city.
- Expand Wi-Fi access and LinkNYC kiosks to all parks through community and corporate partnerships.
Community Engagement:
- Investigate duplicating the Open Space Alliance (OSA) model to other community districts across Brooklyn and New York City. The OSA is a non-profit conservancy that maintains, protects, and promotes open spaces over a large community, not just one specific park.
- Push the City to regularly convene existing friends-of parks groups to coordinate advocacy, best practices, and strategic investment, as well as support communities who are looking to start their own community-based park partnership.
- Cultivate the creation of park conservancies to foster the maintenance and operations of the greenspaces.
Expanding Access:
- Require NYC Parks to work with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to identify potential street conversions in communities with limited greenspace such as Bensonhurst, Borough Park, East Flatbush, and Flatbush in Brooklyn, and similar neighborhoods across New York City.
- Foster partnership between NYC Parks and DOT to develop a “Safe Routes to Parks” program to ensure residents can easily and safely access parks by foot and bicycle.
- Commission a study to identify additional potential park and playground sites throughout New York City to encourage construction of new parks.
Funding:
- Dedicate a “Percent for Parks” in future New York City budgets. This would have added an additional $444,131,651 to this year’s budget totaling $888,263,302.
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