Co-Chair of New Yorkers for Parks Lynden B. Miller spoke on The Martha Stewart Show in a special on New York City on July 27^th.  Lynden is a Public Garden Designer and her new book, “Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape,” is coming out this fall.  Ms. Miller is also founder of the Daffodil Project, a partnership between New Yorkers for Parks and the Parks Department, which is a living memorial of daffodils dedicated to 9/11 that elevates the spirits and beauty of NYC’s public spaces. 

Since rescuing and restoring the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park in 1982, she has designed a tapestry of plantings in public spaces such as the Central Park Zoo, Bryant Park, Union Square Park, The New York Botanical Garden, Madison Square Park and Wagner Park in Battery Park City as well as many smaller projects in all five boroughs and beyond.  Click here to view the video entitled, “New York Parks .”

To learn more about her work and public garden design, be sure to find her book, “Parks, Plants and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape ,” which will be due out this fall 2009.

Here are today's parks related daily clips:

Governor's Island continues to need funding and Bronx residents near Yankees stadium are still waiting for their new park.

Rule Allowing Guns in Parks Is Blocked

Silver puts mayor’s Governors Isle idea on hold

Lack Of Parks Surround New Stadium, For Now

Community Boards were asked to rate the most important City services for their district as part of the City Budget process. 48 of the 59 CBs participated.

Some great info about parks was revealed this year:

• Overall, “parks maintenance” came in second, only behind “services for the elderly”
• By the borough, parks maintenance was ranked in the top 4 for every borough, except Manhattan, where it was ranked 8^th.  (Sounds like our public-private partnerships are doing their job – Manhattanites clearly believe that park maintenance isn’t much of an issue.)

For more about the survey, please click here: http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/cgi-park/

The New York City Council Committee on Parks and Recreation will hold an Oversight Hearing on the Department of Parks and Recreation's Lifeguard Program.  As many of you know, there is a shortage of lifeguards to cover  the City's 14 miles of beaches.  This is a great opportunity to provide recommendations to ensure that everyone has a positive beach experience.  

HEARING DETAILS: 

WHEN: Tuesday, November 13th at 10:00am

WHERE: 16th Floor Hearing Room, 250 Broadway

Please bring 20 copies of testimony if you plan to testify in person.  

With the economy cooling and showing signs of a possible recession, Mayor Bloomberg announced a hiring freeze for all city agencies.  In addition, the Mayor asked agencies to cut their spending by 2.5% this year and 5% next year.  Commissioners have been asked to submit their proposals for reducing spending by the end of November.  This will affect the Parks Department upcoming initiatives including PlaNYC.    Hopefully, Wall Street revenues for the fourth quarter will be higher than projected and the cuts will be short lived. 

 http://www.nytimes.com/

September 8, 2006 

Pataki Announces $100K Grant For Bronx Waterfront Access