Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
Championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods.
What's New
NY4P Opposes the Proposed Construction of an MLS Stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Holly Leicht Participates in New York League of Conservation Voters' Candidate School
May 13, 2013
Regardless of the terms of the deal, the design of the stadium, or any offers of replacement parkland, New Yorkers for Parks cannot support the proposed construction of a Major League Soccer stadium in the heart of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The location is simply wrong, and no modification or mitigation can make up for the loss of this vital open space. Read more
Holly Leicht Participates in New York League of Conservation Voters' Candidate School
May 12, 2013
The training, aimed at educating the next generation of city leadership about environmental issues, was attended by numerous candidates for Borough President and City Council Read more.
Support Builds for Flushing Meadows Corona Park Alliance
Holly Leicht Named to FAR ROC Jury
April 30, 2013
More than 100 attendees at a forum in Corona last Monday heard a presentation by New York City Council Member Julissa Ferreras about an idea for the park that NY4P strongly supports: the creation of an alliance, based on other public-private partnerships the City has entered, to operate and maintain the entire park and help transform it from an under-staffed, poorly maintained public space into the gem that Queens deserves. Read more.
Holly Leicht Named to FAR ROC Jury
April 29, 2013
NY4P Executive Director Holly Leicht has been named to the jury for the FAR ROC (For a Resilient Rockaway) design competition, which will explore strategies for the planning, design and construction of a resilient and sustainable housing development at Arverne East, a more than 80-acre site on the Rockaway Peninsula. Read more.
Outstanding Volunteers Honored at Daffodil Breakfast
April 23, 2013
NY4P honored outstanding Daffodil Project volunteers from every borough at its annual Daffodil Breakfast Tuesday at Bryant Park Grill. The New York City Housing Authority's Garden and Greening Program won the Lynden B. Miller Citywide Award, and New York City Council Member Vincent Ignizio of Staten Island received special recognition for his tireless support of community volunteerism in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Read more.
Park Advocates Speak Out at NY4P Town Hall
April 12, 2013
NY4P hosted more than 100 park advocates representing every borough at a town hall and facilitated break-out sessions Thursday night in Lower Manhattan. Advocate feedback will help shape our election-year Parks Platform 2013, a set of open space goals we'll ask candidates running for New York City office to embrace. Read more.
Preliminary Parks Budget Offers a Few Reasons to Cheer
March 20, 2013
For the first time since 2008, the preliminary Parks Department budget calls for a significant increase in staff: 414 new positions, the majority of which are dedicated to parks maintenance. The proposed expense budget totals more than $344 million, up from the $337.5 million adopted last year. Read more.
In Middle Village, Advocate Watches Over Fields He Once Played On
March 19, 2013
Robert Holden has built the Juniper Valley Civic Association into a venerable, machine-like force of park stewardship, helping Juniper Valley Park score higher than any other on our recent Report Card on Large Parks. Read more.
NY4P Releases 2012 Report Card on Large Parks
March 10, 2013
The 2012 report revisits maintenance conditions of the 43 parks surveyed in our 2011 Report Card. While 88 percent of parks scored in the A or B range, the report makes clear that the Parks Department simply hasn't had sufficient resources to keep up with the maintenance demands of 29,000 acres of parkland. Read more.
E. Harlem Open Space Advocate Lets Kids Chart Their Own Course
March 5, 2013
The key to Concrete Safaris Executive Director Mac Levine’s success isn’t that she knows what’s best for the children of East Harlem. It’s that she knows how to get them to tell her what’s best for themselves. Read more.
Rec Center Fees to Shift, But Not Enough
February 11, 2013
A newly proposed young adult membership category – following a 45.5 percent drop in Parks Department rec center membership among adults and seniors between 2011 and 2012 – is a step in the right direction. But more needs to be done to address the impact of recent fee increases on low-income adults and seniors. Read more.
Proposed USTA Expansion Leaves Park and Neighbors in the Lurch
January 23, 2013
It's time for the United States Tennis Association, which has proposed a $500 million expansion of its 42-acre campus in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, to commit to a significant, long-term investment in and partnership with Flushing Meadows Corona Park and its neighbors. Read more.
In Memoriam: Edward (Kerry) Sullivan, SI Environmental Steward
January 18, 2013
For the past 20 years, there was hardly a park or shoreline cleanup, hardly a rally or outreach campaign on Staten Island that didn't involve Sullivan, who passed away in December at 55. Read more.
Queensbridge Park Advocate Needs No Introduction
January 16, 2013
Ms. McQueen has lived in the Queensbridge Houses since 1950. About 12 years ago, she began to organize volunteer cleanups in Queensbridge Park, and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation asked whether she’d start a volunteer group to help maintain the riverfront space. She agreed, and the Friends of Queensbridge Park was born. Read more.
Recent Reports
The good news: New York City's large parks average a B+ for maintenance, up from a B a year earlier. The bad news: old problems keep popping up in new places. This report revisits maintenance conditions of the 43 parks between 20 and 500 acres surveyed in our 2011 Report Card. Eighty-eight percent of parks scored in the A or B range, three scored in the C range and one earned a D. This is an improvement from the 2011 report, in which 80 percent of parks scored an A or B, and one park received a failing grade. But despite the improvements, the 2012 report makes clear that the Parks Department simply hasn't had sufficient resources to keep up with the maintenance demands of 29,000 acres of parkland. Read the full report. Our first Report Card on Large Parks assessed the conditions of 45 parks between 20 and 500 acres. The good news: the vast majority scored an A or B, and only one park received a failing grade. Read the full report.
Report Card on Beaches (2011)
Our third Report Card on Beaches looked at the seven municipal swimming beaches with an eye toward trends across six years. The average beach score increased from an F in 2007 to a B+ in 2011. Read the full report.
Lower East Side (2010)
The Open Space Index:
Lower East Side (2010)
In 2010, NY4P developed the Open Space Index methodology, which is based on a set of 15 NYC-specific benchmarks against which we measure open space maintenance, access, variety and environmental sustainability, generating data on the study neighborhood’s strengths and needs. Our first report assessed Manhattan's Lower East Side. Read the full report.
Supporting our Parks: A Guide to Alternate Revenue Strategies (2010)
In a time of strained municipal budgets, NY4P has become a leading voice on creative financing mechanisms for new parks. This report provides a balanced, comprehensive look at potential revenue streams to generate funding outside of New York City's budget to support parks while preserving their character and ensuring equitable distribution of parks resources citywide. Read the full report.
Our History
For more than 100 years, NY4P has promoted and protected parks and open spaces in New York City. Since our founding in 1908, our mission has been to ensure that all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods have access to quality parks and open spaces. That mission has inspired us to wage – and win – battles with Robert Moses over parkland alienation, advocate for landmark playground and waterfront parks projects, engage low-income teenagers in community beautification and environmental initiatives, and conduct and publish award-winning open space research.
Throughout our history, we have seen parks foster healthy lifestyles, social interaction, community stability and civic pride. More than just working on behalf of New Yorkers for better parks and open spaces, we’re working for New Yorkers on behalf of a better New York.
Read more about our past accomplishments here.