Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Photo credit: Daniel Avila/NYC Parks
NYC Parks today announced it will hold a public hearing on July 7, 2023, for proposed new rules to change the application timeline for Special Event permits and to establish standards for the distribution of permits for multi-day Special Events in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens. New Yorkers have an opportunity to submit comment on the proposed new rules beginning this Tuesday, June 6, 2023; comment submissions will be accepted until Friday, July 7, 2023.
NYC Parks Department announced that Coney Island Beach, Rockaway Beach, and Orchard Beach will officially open to the public this Saturday, May 27th, with lifeguards on duty from 10am to 6pm.
NYC Parks today announced the completion of a brand-new StoryMaphighlighting the City’s trees, canopy, and forestry maintenance titled “Our Urban Forest.” Through the StoryMap, Parks has compiled the most comprehensive look at the City’s urban forest to date, complete with information on the city’s process for caring for trees; contextual data on thecoverage and expansion of the City’s urban canopy; and additional information on tree services requests, inspections, and more.
Council Member Vicki Paladino have some fun at the Reopening of Bowne Park with pond, plaza and Bocce Ball court! Image credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
NYC Parks Queens Borough Commissioner Jackie Langsam joined Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., Council Member Vickie Paladino, Community Board 7 Chairperson Eugene Kelty, representatives from the Bowne Park Civic Association and the Broadway Flushing Homeowners Association, former City Council Member Paul Vallone, and members of the community to celebrate the completion of $3.6 million in improvements to Bowne Parke in Flushing Queens.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue joined NYC Department of Transportation Manhattan Borough Commissioner Ed Pincar, Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Chief Operating Officer Kim Cipriano, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Assembly Member Alex Bores, Council Member Julie Menin, representatives from Community Boards 8 and 6,and community members cut the ribbon on the reconstruction of Honey Locust Park.
Cherry Blossoms 2023 in NYC Parks. Image credit: Daniel Avila & NYC Parks
Spring has sprung, and with it comes every New Yorker’s favorite time of year: cherry blossom season! NYC Parks is pleased to announce that peak bloom has arrived for trees around the city. Every year, New Yorkers flock to see the seasonal blooms in all five boroughs – a great way to get outside and enjoy City parks as the weather warms up.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue joined The Poetry Society of America Executive Director Matt Brogan, poet Edward Hirsch, and students from P.S. 676 and Summit Academy Charter School to celebrate five new installations bringing poetry to New York’s public parks through the Park Poems initiative.
NYC Parks announced today that a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) has been issued for the renovation, operation, and maintenance of the following golf courses:
Anchorage Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn. Image via nycparks
NYC Parks announced today that a Request for Expressions of Interest (“RFEI”) has been issued for the temporary and seasonal implementation of programming, amenities, events, and development at Anchorage Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn.
Anchorage Plaza is surrounded by a busy and dynamic section of the Brooklyn Bridge, bound by Old Fulton, Front, York, Washington, and Prospect Streets with views of the Manhattan skyline. It is located between the vibrant and frequently visited historic districts of Brooklyn Heights and Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (“DUMBO”) neighborhoods of Brooklyn.
Image Credit: Rose DeSiano, Public Continuum Rendering, 2023, courtesy of the artist
NYC Parks is pleased to announce that artist Rose DeSiano has been selected as the recipient of the Highland Park Art Grant. DeSiano will receive an award of $25,000 to create her proposed artwork, Public Continuum, to be displayed in Highland Park on the border of Brooklyn and Queens from Summer 2023 to Summer 2024. The Highland Park Art Grant supports the creation of one new, temporary artwork by a New York City-based emerging artist in Highland Park. The resulting artwork will transform Lower Highland Park into an art destination, with supporting events and programs.
Marcus Garvey Park w/view of the Acropolis & historic Harlem Fire Watchtower in the background, the current art installation by Art Lives Here on the great lawn, artist Reuben Sinha: Breathing. Madison Ave side near 123rd Street.
Sitting in on the recent CB 11 meeting, Jana La Sorte, the Administrator of Historic Harlem Parks, gave an update on a plethora of good news happening in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem.
The Park, which runs from 120th Street to 124th Street, and from Madison Avenue to Mount Morris Park West, is the home to the historic Harlem Fire Watchtower, the Harlem Drummers, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, a swimming pool, and from what we heard in this meeting, it may be the new home of Harlem Eat Up!
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue joined Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., Congresswoman Grace Meng, Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Council Member Sandra Ung, Representatives from Community Boards 4, 6, 7, and 8, Senior Swimmers from Roy Wilkins, St. John’s, and Al Oerter Recreation Centers, and community members to officially reopen the Flushing Meadows Aquatics Center to the public and debut brand new programming.
Abandoned Boat Removal by NYC Parks in Sheepshead Bay. Image credit: NYC Parks/Malcolm Pinckney
Today, NYC Parks Chief of Waterfront and Marine Operations Nate Grove and City Council Member Inna Vernikov teamed up to remove three derelict vessels from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Derelict, abandoned vessels and other marine debris are environmental hazards and create navigational and property damage risks, particularly when becoming dislodged during heavy weather events.
NYC Parks announces a new campaign debuting today on LinkNYC, to remind New Yorkers of the fun and beauty they can experience by spending time off-screen by playing and exploring the outdoors.
“Our new campaign is a gentle reminder to get out, look up, and enjoy the outdoors!” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Social Media is a great way to learn about the best parks to visit in NYC, but nothing beats the mental and physical benefits of playing in nature IRL.”
Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit that sustains the park in partnership with the City, has received a prestigious $275,000 Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation to advance its ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which seeks to re-envision the mission and programming at the park’s historic house museum to recognize its roleas a site of dispossession and enslavement, and explore the stories of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking whose unceded ancestral lands the house rests upon and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.
The Alliance will engage the public around this initiative with a Community Conversation on Saturday, February 11, 2023, from 1-4 pm, at the Prospect Park Boathouse. Learn more and RSVP for this free event at prospectpark.org/reimagine-lefferts-conversation
Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Riverside Park via NYC Parks Dept
The Mayor’s Office of the City of New York has released its preliminary 2024 budget, which includes $62.3 million in funding for the restoration of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument and Plaza in Riverside Park.
This huge milestone comes after years of advocacy from Riverside Park Conservancy, elected officials and the public. Among the project’s most active champions has been Council Member Gale Brewer, who launched a petition to save the monument last year that garnered thousands of signatures.
Marcus Garvey Park w/view of the Acropolis & historic Harlem Fire Watchtower in the background, the current art installation by Art Lives Here on the great lawn, artist Reuben Sinha: Breathing. Madison Ave side near 123rd Street. October 2022.
If you take Fifth Avenue Uptown, You will have a pleasant pause at 120th Street, where you will be greeted by an entrance to Marcus Garvey Park ~ Harlem to the West and East Harlem to the East. The Park spans from 120th Street to 124th Street, and from Mt. Morris Park West to Madison Avenue.
As New Yorkers prepare to turn the page on the past year, NYC Parks GreenThumb is taking a moment to look back and celebrate a successful 2022 community gardening season. Over the past year, GreenThumb has taken major strides to increase garden accessibility, connectivity, and food production, having renovated, rebuilt, and expanded 21 community gardens throughout the city, including eight “GreenThumb Community Gardens at NYCHA” projects; installed 290 raised garden beds for food production; and added 1,425 linear feet of accessible paths in 16 community gardens. This year, a major focus of the department was volunteerism, and GreenThumb delivered by organizing and hosting 44 volunteer days and 93 workshops, including 5 intensive training series attended by almost 3,000 participants.
Illustration of Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center courtesy NYC Parks
NYC Parks and NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) are proud to announce the design completion for the new, to-be-constructed Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center planned for East Flatbush, Brooklyn. This brand-new recreation center will include an indoor pool and public plaza, and serve as a hub for fitness, learning, and recreation.
NYC Parks has released a Request for Proposals (“RFP”) for the operation, maintenance, and development of a new café at Cadman Plaza Park in Downtown Brooklyn. Cadman Plaza serves as a focal point for the entire Brooklyn Heights community and is an ideal location for a new café. The park is frequented by families, joggers, and dog-walkers, as well as commuters and local employees. The RFP offers a unique opportunity for a prospective proposer to transform an existing building into a brand-new café.
The holidays are fast approaching, and so is NYC Parks’ annual Mulchfest tree chipping celebration! Beginning December 26, New Yorkers can “tree”-cycle their trees at local parks, with convenient drop-off sites in all five boroughs. NYC Parks wants you to bid your Holiday Tree fir-well during Mulchfest 2023!
Dedication of Heintz Memorial. Photo credit: NYC Parks/Malcolm Pinckney
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue and Parks Director of Art & Antiquities Jonathan Kuhn joined the Public Design Commission’s Senior Manager of Art, Conservation & Design Carolina Llano, State Senator Jose Serrano, President of the 161 Street BID Trey Jenkins, Community Board 4 Parks Chair Paul Lozito, members of the Friends of Four Parks Alliance, students and staff from All Hollows High School, and members of the community to celebrate the rededication of the Heintz Memorial and the restoration and reinstallation of the Fame statue in Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue & New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) Chief Infrastructure Officer Josh Kraus joined Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, Council Member Marjorie Velazquez, Council Member Amanda Farias, Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr., President of the Friends of Pelham Bay Park Nilka Martell, Community Board 10 Parks Chair Terence Franklin, and members of the community to officially break ground on the $87 million Orchard Beach Pavilion project to restore the historic 140,000 square foot space.
NYC Parks launched a first-of-its-kind living tree map—the NYC Tree Map—showcasing nearly one million individually managed City trees that includes newly mapped, in-park trees that have unique IDs, species information, and maintenance status. Building on Parks’ previously launched Street Tree Map, this empowers New Yorkers to digitally interact with all 800,000+ landscaped park and street trees in real time. It allows them to find the specific location of each park and street tree in the city; see tree species and how each tree contributes to a healthier, more resilient city; record their stewardship activity; report tree conditions directly to Parks staff; and for the first time ever, see the results of any completed inspections and recent tree work.
NYC Parks’ annual Wreath Interpretations exhibition returned to the Arsenal Gallery, with almost 40 inventive, handcrafted wreaths on display that celebrate the holiday season. Free to the public, and on view until December 30, this year’s collection of wreaths was created by artists, designers, and creative individuals of all ages who have used inventive and unexpected materials tore-envision the traditional holiday decoration.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue announced today that the City has reached an agreement with DC37 to raise the pay rates for new and second year seasonal lifeguards to approximately $21.26/hr. Additionally, all lifeguards working through mid-August are eligible to receive a $1,000 bonus, and Parks will once again offer a mini-pool specific lifeguard certification for staff who cover mini-pools only, making it more accessible for New Yorkers to secure a job as a lifeguard. 2022 NYC Parks Department Lifeguards ~ it’s time to get your recertification for Summer 2023!
Rendering, Overhead view of community welcome garden. Image credit: NYC Parks.
NYC Parks and NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) are proud to announce the design completion for the brand-new Mary Cali Dalton Recreation Center in Tompkinsville, Staten Island. The first Parks ‘Design-Build’ project, recreation center is expected to break ground Summer 2023, will offer a variety of recreational amenities including sport courts, multi-purpose areas for programming, fitness equipment and much more. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
NYC Parks today announced the completion of its “Shoreline Parks Plan,” New York City’s first-ever conceptual plan for the East Shore of Staten Island. Addressing approximately 5.5 miles of shoreline and 1,000 acres of NYC Parks property, the Shoreline Parks Plan re-envisions parks along Staten Island’s shore and introduces diversified amenities and activities; increases accessibility and circulation; and improves the overall visitor experience.
2021 American Nobel Laureates honored on NYC Parks Monument. Image credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
2021 American Laureates Joshua D. Angrist and David W.C. MacMillan join celebration in their honor.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue today joined Consul General of Sweden in New York Camilla Mellander, Consul General of Norway in New York Heidi Olufsen, Councilmember Gale Brewer, 2021 Nobel Prize recipients Drs. Joshua D. Angrist and David W.C. MacMillan, Nagisa Manabe and Professor Oscar Schofield on behalf of 2021 Nobel Prize recipient Syukuro Manabe, and students from the Anderson School to unveil eight new Laureateinscriptions adorned to the Nobel Monument at Theodore Roosevelt Park.
The Freedom Square, Queens, Memorial angel figure cleaned and waxed. Image credit: NYC Parks.
NYC Parks’ Citywide Monuments Conservators were hard at work to preserve more than 25 war memorials ahead of Veterans Day. Parks’ bronze sculptures have been cleaned and rewaxed to make them shine in honor of our veterans.
NYC Parks invites artists to submit proposals for the Highland Park Art Grant. The winning artist will receive an award of $25,000 to create their proposed artwork for display outdoors in Highland Park, which is on the border of Brooklyn and Queens. The artwork will be installed on the Brooklyn side in summer 2023 and will be on view for up to one year.
Sunset Cove in Broad Channel, Queens. Image courtesy NYC Parks
From coastal park infrastructure upgrades, to monumental boardwalk renovations, to the replacement of 10,000 trees lost in the storm, and the restoration of close to 100 of acres of wetlands, salt marshes and stream corridors, NYC Parks shares progress on more than $1 billion dollars in Federal and City funded resiliency projects designed to strengthen parkland after Superstorm Sandy.
Little Red Lighthouse in Fort Washington Park. Image credit: NYC Parks
For the first time since 2019, The Little Red Lighthouse Festival returns to picturesque Fort Washington Park on the Hudson River, with free activities that highlight the tiny beacon’s history and preservation. The annual festival features readings of the eponymous children’s book, fishing clinics, live music, food and art vendors, NYC Parks Urban Park Ranger presentations, and free activities for all ages!
Fall in love with New York City’s parks all over again! With the season’s crisp, cool weather and gorgeously colored leaves making an entrance, today NYC Parks announced the return of its #FallForNYC initiative, with its fifth annual fall photo campaign, Leaf ID guide, suggestions for the most scenic spots to leaf peep, and fun events across the five boroughs to get New Yorkers in the autumn spirit.
Renderings of The Cubes at Socrates Sculpture Park, courtesy LOT-EK
Socrates Sculpture Park is excited to break ground for “The Cubes,” a new 2,640 square-foot, two-story building that will become a permanent home for Socrates Sculpture Park, designed by the innovative architecture studio LOT-EK. Multi-functional by design, the space will provide new facilities for the park’s administrative offices, arts education and community work, creating opportunities for year-round public programming. Constructed from up cycled shipping containers, the building’s origin, materials, and design invokes Socrates Sculpture Park’s founding principles of creative reclamation, adaptable re-use, and honoring the neighborhood’s industrial roots.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue will join Socrates Sculpture Park Executive Director Tamsin Dillon, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo, Socrates Sculpture Park Board Member Stuart Match Suna, City Council Member Julie Won, Assemblymember Catherine Nolan, Community Board 1 Chair Marie Torniali, and members of the community to officially break ground on “The Cubes.”
It was announced on February 16, 2023 that the city has selected Legends Hospitality as its new operator for the iconic Loeb Boathouse in Central Park, for a 10-year term. If approved by the Franchise & Concession Review Committee (FCRC), the iconic venue will reopen to the public this summer.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue joined Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, Council Member Joann Ariola, Community Board 14 Chair Dolores Orr, representatives from USA Pickleball, children from camp P.S. 317 and the Millennium Development Summer Program, and members of the community to cut the ribbon on the brand new adventure course and pickleball court in Rockaway Beach. The new adventure course and pickleball court are part of continued efforts to rebuild Rockaway after hurricane Sandy in 2012.
The New York City Parks Department Monuments Conservation Program Crew will be heading to Washington Square Park on Thursday, July 21, 2022 to begin intensive stone repairs, micro-abrasive cleaning, and chemical protection to preserve the Washington Square Arch’s masonry.
Ribbon cutting at Manuel Plaza. Photo credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
Today, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue and NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala today cut the ribbon on two newly constructed plazas in Lower Manhattan. Beginning at the new Rapkin-Gayle Plaza, they were joined by Borough President Mark Levine, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, Council Member Christopher Marte, Community Board 2 Chair Jeannine Kiely, David Rapkin, son of Chester Rapkin, and members of the community. Following the first ribbon cutting, they were joined by State Senator Brad Hoylman, Council Member Carlina Rivera, Kei Williams and Isa Reyes from the Black Gotham Experience, Emily Hillwright Director of Operations at the Merchant’s House Museum and community members to cut a second ribbon on Manuel Plaza. The new plazas add much-needed open space to the area while retaining access for DEP operations.
Sunset Cove in Broad Channel. Photo Credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue today joined Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery Assistant Communication Director Shachar Roloson, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, Broad Channel Civic Association & Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers Representative Daniel Mundy Sr., and members of the community to break ground on phase two of the Sunset Cove Park project in Queens which will bring a new boardwalk and outdoor classroom to the park.
New Cafe’ at McCarren Park. Image credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue today joined the operators of the new McCarren ParkHouse, Aaron Broudo and Belvy Klein, and community members to cut the ribbon on the new café at McCarren Park in Brooklyn.
“We are thrilled to herald the start of the summer season, while continuing New York City’s ongoing recovery, by welcoming the opening of a brand new café at McCarren Park,” said Commissioner Donoghue. “New Yorkers can now enjoy a delightful outdoor dining experience in North Brooklyn’s largest public park. I am also pleased that this historic building has been completely restored with new sustainable elements and, in addition to the café, will serve as a new hub for NYC Parks’ North Brooklyn Maintenance & Operations and Parks Enforcement Patrol staff.”
NYC Parks has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the sale of specialty items from Mobile Units in some of the city’s most iconic parks, including Central Park, Forest Park, Macombs Dam Park, and more! For the first time ever, Parks has issued an RFP for both food and merchandise mobile units in the same request. Parks is inviting proposals for inventive, exciting concepts, whether selling an assortment of healthy, fresh salads to people on the go, hot and cold delicacies from a distant homeland, or fresh flowers to spruce up the home.
Last Saturday, June 18th, NYC Parks invited New Yorkers to meet at the Central Park Bandshell for a day of adventure. From 11am to 4pm, kids and their parents (or kids at heart) zip lined, rock climbed, paddle boarded and more at the annual Adventures NYC with the NYC Parks Department and Outside, transforming Central Park into the nation’s largest urban adventure playground.
NYC Parks’ Citywide Monuments Conservation Program working on Richard Hunt’s Harlem Hybrid on West 125th Street in Harlem. Image credit: NYC Parks/Malcolm Pinckney
As the 25th season of NYC Parks’ Citywide Monuments Conservation Program (CMCP) commences, a team of skilled conservators and trainees have started making the rounds to clean, recoat and treat several major monuments throughout the five boroughs. On Friday, this year’s three new seasonal apprentices worked with staff using ladders and a boom lift to preserve Richard Hunt’s Harlem Hybrid along with other sculptures in Harlem.
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue announces that the City’s eight public beaches will open for swimming on Saturday, May 28, and remain open through Sunday, September 11, 2022. Lifeguards will be on duty daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; swimming is unsafe and strictly prohibited at all other times.
The Arsenal Gallery, “Parks Now: Honoring the Olmsted Legacy”
NYC Parks Director of Art & Antiquities Jonathan Kuhn will give a guided tour of the bicentennial exhibition “Parks Now: Honoring the Olmsted Legacy,” on view at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park. The show, which features innovative park designs that build on Frederick Law Olmsted’s legacy in New York City, is on view until June 2, 2022. The guided tour by Jonathan Kuhn will take place on Wednesday, May 25th at 12:30pm at The Arsenal Gallery, Fifth Avenue at 64th Street, on the 3rd floor in Central Park. Mask-wearing is required to enter the gallery, and guests are required to sign in. This is a free event, open to the public.
Crotona Park Soccer Field. Image credit: Daniel Avila/NYC Parks
Today, NYC Parks First Deputy Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa joined Congressman Ritchie Torres, His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States (UAE Embassy), City in the Community – the foundation proudly supported by New York City Football Club (NYCFC), City Council Member Oswald Feliz, City Council Member Althea Stevens, representatives from Friends of Crotona, and students from the East Bronx Academy for the Future to celebrate the completion of a $363,000 refurbishment of the Crotona Park Soccer Field, made possible through the support of the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC and NYCFC. Looks like everyone was having fun!
What has kept us sane over this past two years? Our Parks. Big or small, all over our five boroughs, our Parks are a welcoming respite from the four-walls and concrete sidewalks that have become too large a percentage of our urban life. New Yorkers were promised just 1% of Mayor Adams’ Executive Budget to go towards NYC Park expenses. And now we learn that our NYC Parks aren’t even getting that!
Street Games in Thomas Jefferson Park, April 30, 2022. Image credit: Malcolm Pinckney/NYC Parks
NYC Parks celebrated its 13th annual Street Games in Thomas Jefferson Park on Saturday, April 30, 2022.! This FREE family-friendly event featured classic games, including double dutch, pogo sticks, hula hoops, a boxcar derby, and more.
NYC Parks this year celebrates forty years of the Parks Enforcement Patrol, a team of dedicated officers who preserve and protect parks and public facilities.
Forty-two new officers currently in training to join PEP ranks this Spring!
