Nearly 200 park advocates from across all five boroughs attended the eighth annual Parks Advocacy Day on May 20, 2010 at NYU Kimmel Center. Thank you to all who joined us for this exciting event!

The event began with a networking session attended by advocates and New York City Council Members. Discussions of local park challenges and successes filled the room as groups worked towards solutions.

The second part of the day was a panel discussion with City Council Parks Committee members. Chair Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Members Daniel Dromm, Julissa Ferreras, and Elizabeth Crowley participated. Moderator Anne Schwartz of Gotham Gazette asked a few questions before opening up the discussion to the audience. Council members spoke about the protection of community gardens, funding for parks, community involvement in greening, and more.

Following the panel, attendees split up into breakout groups focused on three topics: PlaNYC, concessions, and public-private partnerships. These sessions were led by community facilitators. Notes can be found here:

PlaNYC Breakout Session Notes

Public Private Partnerships Breakout Session Notes

Concessions Breakout Session Notes

Download a template letter to send to your Council Member if they did not attend here.

Download a list of participating groups here.

Council Member Attendees:
CM Margaret Chin (CD 1)
CM Rosie Mendez (CD 2)
CM Daniel Garodnick (CD 4)
CM Gale Brewer (CD 6)
CM Melissa Mark-Viverito (CD 8)
CM Julissa Ferreras (CD 21)
CM Daniel Dromm (CD 25)
CM Elizabeth Crowley (CD 30)
CM Diana Reyna (CD 34

Council Member representatives:
CM Christine Quinn’s office (CD 3)
CM Jessica Lappin’s office (CD 5)
CM Fernando Cabrera’s office (CD 14)
CM Annabel Palma’s office (CD 18)
CM James Sanders, Jr.’s office (CD 31)
CM Brad Lander’s office (CD 39)
CM Jumaane Williams’office (CD 45)