The Play Fair for Parks campaign is a multi-year advocacy effort that elevates parks and open space issues in NYC with the Play Fair Coalition, 300+ groups and organizations

Co-founded by New Yorkers for Parks, the New York League of Conservation Voters, and District Council 37, the NYC Parks workers’ union

City parks cover 14% of NYC but the NYC Parks budget is just 0.5% of the total City budget. NYC’s parks are critical infrastructure that have been overlooked and underfunded for too long. The pandemic laid bare the inequities in NYC's park system and highlighted the dire need to fund and build more parks to ensure equitable access for all New Yorkers.

 

Take Action for Parks!

Sign up for our emails on parks advocacy or join the Play Fair Coalition today.

 

In 2021, we called on Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council to restore essential funds to the NYC Parks department. NYC Parks received the 2nd largest cut of any agency following COVID-19 austerity measures. That reduction of $84 million caused parks to be in the worst conditions on record while demand for them was at an all-time high.

 

We're thrilled that our elected leaders heard our voices and restored $80M to NYC Parks budget for FY22! 

All of our Play Fair asks were funded through the full fiscal year either through Council, Mayoral, or federal stimulus funds, or a shift of funds from operations to capital budgets.

 

FY22 Play Fair Budget Platform: $80M to Renew and Restore the Expense Budget for NYC Parks

$58M to reinvest in critical Maintenance and Operations

• $10M to baseline the FY21 one-shot 100 City Park Worker and 50 Gardener staff lines

• $30M to restore the seasonal staff budget for maintenance and operations workers citywide

• $3M to restore the Parks Opportunity Program and provide a pathway to full-time employment

• $15M to restore critical parks forestry contracts for tree pruning, stump removal, sidewalk repair, and invasive species control

$4M to reinvest in Recreation and Programming – to restore the Parks Equity Initiative and support park stewardship organizations citywide

$9M to reinvest in Parks Safety

• $3M to restore the 50 Urban Park Ranger positions created in the FY20 budget

• $6M to restore the 80 Parks Enforcement Patrol positions created in the FY20 budget

$7.9M to reinvest in Nature and Resiliency

• $3.4M to restore 15 GreenThumb staff and expand access to plant materials, resources, and tools for community gardeners citywide

• $4.5M to continue conserving and caring for our natural forests and begin critical improvements for our City’s wetlands and trails network

  

Adapting to Change in 2020

2020 brought unprecedented challenges but we adapted to continue our advocacy. Our Coalition's campaigning in-person, by phone and email, and on Zoom resulted in 300 secured jobs for NYC Parks workers, despite the agency taking a 14% cut of $84 million.

Of those 300 secured jobs, 150 were made permanent and 150 were renewed just for the year – we'll continue to advocate for those 150 to become permanent, too.

 

Play Fair Launch in 2019

We kicked off the Play Fair campaign in 2019 and succeeded in getting a historic increase of $44 million into the NYC Parks FY20 budget. We held two rallies in February and May attended by over 200 New Yorkers. The $44 million broke down like this:

• $19.1 million for park maintenance workers
• $8.2 million for GreenThumb community gardens
• $6 million for 80 additional Parks Enforcement Patrol officers
• $4 million for 50 additional Urban Park Rangers
• $4 million for Forestry Management
• $1.7 million to extend the pool and beach season
• $1 million for tree stump removal

 

Our Coalition has over 300 groups and organizations focused on parks, transportation, the environment, social justice, and infrastructure from across the five boroughs.

Add your group or organization to the Play Fair Coalition!

 

The Play Fair Coalition includes:

• 10th & Stuyvesant Streets Block Association
• 142nd St. Dog Run
• 18th Street Brooklyn Block Association
• 300 West Block Association
• 52 People for Progress
• 6BC Botanical Garden
• A Patch of Inspiration Garden
• A. Philip Randolph Square Neighborhood Alliance
• Abraham Lincoln Neighborhood Development Association
• AIA New York 
• Alice Austen House Museum
• Alley Pond Environmental Center
• Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park
• Alliance for Kips Bay
• American Society of Landscape Architects, New York Chapter (ASLA-NY)
• Astoria Park Alliance
• Baisley Pond Park Block Association 
• Bedford Mosholu Community Association
• Bissel Gardens BX 
• Boerum Hill School for International Studies
• Brite Leadership Coalition/ENY
• Broadway Mall Association 
• Bronx Coalition for Parks & Green Spaces 
• Bronx Community Board 8 
• Bronx Community Health Network 
• Bronx Council for Environmental Quality 
• Bronx Land Trust 
• Bronx Park East Community Association 
• Bronx River Alliance 
• Bronx Roots in Motion 
• Brookfield Civic Association 
• Brooklyn Bird Club
• Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan
• Brooklyn Greenway Initiative 
• Brooklyn Parks & Open Space Coalition 
• Brooklyn Lakeside Curling Club
• Brooklyn Queens Land Trust 
• Buenavista Futbol Club Inc 
• BUFNY II/Harlem Tenants Association
• BX Arts 
• CABS Home Care 
• Cadman Park Conservancy/Brooklyn War Memorial
• Carl Schurz Park Conservancy 
• Carnegie Hill Neighbors 
• Central Park Conservancy 
• ChaShaMa
• Chelsea Waterside Park Association 
• Citizen Gardeners 
• Citizens Climate Lobby 
• City Growers
• City Island Rising 
• City Parks Foundation 
• Clean Bushwick Initiative 
• Cleveland-Pitkin Block Association 
• Clinton Garden 
• Coastal Preservation Network 
• Cobble Hill Association 
• Common Ground Compost 
• Concrete Plant Park Friends 
• Coney Island Beautification Project 
• Conference House Association 
• Conference House Park Conservancy Inc. 
• Cortelyou Road Merchant Assocation (CORMA) 
• Cosmopolitan Jr. Soccer League 
• Court Square Civic Association 
• Davey Resource Group, Inc. 
• DC37 Retirees Association 
• Design Trust for Public Space 
• Different Directions 
• DLANDstudio 
• Douglaston Local Development Corporation 
• Downtown Alliance 
• Downtown Brooklyn Partnership 
• Downtown United Soccer Club 
• Drew Gardens 
• Drew Gardens Educational Recreation 
• Dunbar Garden Council 
• Earth Avengers 
• Earth Matter NY Inc. 
• Earth Ministry of the Church of the Mediator 
• East 43rd Street Community Garden
• East NY 4 Gardens
• Edgemere Coalition Community Garden 
• Edso Sports, Inc. 
• El Garden Bushwick 
• El Jardín del Paraíso
• El Puente 
• Elite Learners, Inc. 
• Ellington on the Park 
• Elmhurst Supporters of Parks 
• Fieldston Rd. Association 
• Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy 
• Fort Four Playground 
• Fort Greene Park Conservancy 
• Fort Tryon Park Trust 
• Forth on Fourth Avenue 
• Franklin Plaza Activities Committee
• Fresh Creek Nature Association 
• Friends of 29th St Park 
• Friends of 4 Parks Alliance 
• Friends of Abe Lebewohl Park 
• Friends of Alley Pond Park 
• Friends of Amersfort Park 
• Friends of Anibal Aviles Playground 
• Friends of Aqueduct Walk 
• Friends of Art Park Alliance 
• Friends of Astoria Heights Park 
• Friends of Bellevue South Park 
• Friends of Bennett Park 
• Friends of Brookville Park 
• Friends of Brower Park, Inc 
• Friends of Brownsville Parks 
• Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park 
• Friends of Carroll Park 
• Friends of City Hall Park
• Friends of Corlears Hook Park 
• Friends of Cunningham Park 
• Friends of Crocheron & John Golden Park
• Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza 
• Friends of Ewen Park 
• Friends of Ferry Point Park & Waterways 
• Friends of Forest Park 
• Friends of Francis Lewis Park 
• Friends of Governors Island 
• Friends of Inwood Hill Park 
• Friends of John Hancock Park 
• Friends of MacDonald Park 
• Friends of Morningside Park 
• Friends of Mosholu Parkland 
• Friends of Pelham Bay Park 
• Friends of Pelham Parkway 
• Friends of Raimonda Park 
• Friends of Seton Falls Park 
• Friends of Sherman Creek Conservancy 
• Friends of Soundview Park 
• Friends of St. Andrew's Playground 
• Friends of St. Nicholas Park (FOSNP)
• Friends of Straus Park 
• Friends of Sunset Park 
• Friends of the High Line 
• Friends of Tompkins Square Dog Run 
• Friends of Transmitter Park 
• Friends of Tremont Park 
• Friends of Wakefield Playground
• Friends of Whalen Park 
• Friends of Williamsbridge Oval 
• Forest Hills Green Team 
• Fort Greene Tennis Association (FGTA)
• GallopNYC 
• Garden Train 
• Genesis Community Garden 
• Girl Scout Troop 3205 
• Girl Scouts of Greater New York 
• Good and Green 
• Gowanus Canal Conservancy 
• Green Bronx Machine 
• Green Guerillas 
• Green Map System 
• Green Park Gardeners NYC 
• Greenbelt Conservancy Inc. 
• Greenpoint Citizens Club 
• Guerinos Against Graffiti 
• Harlem Grown 
• Havemeyer Garden 
• Health Essential Association 
• Hellgate Hill-Highgate Community Association 
• HerpDigest 
• Highland Park Tennis 
• Historic House Trust of New York City
• Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York 
• Hudson River Park Friends 
• Hunters Point Civic Association 
• Hunters Point Parks Conservancy 
• Hutchinson River Restoration Project 
• Inwood Hill Park Conservancy 
• Inwood Rotary Club 
• Jackson Heights Beautification Group 
• Jacob H. Schiff Playground Neighborhood Association 
• Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy 
• Jardín La Roca 
• Jenny's Garden 
• Kelly St. Garden 
• Kissena Corridor Park Conservancy, Inc. 
• La Petit Versailles 
• Le'alani S. Boykin Consulting 
• Lenru Coop 
• Less AIDS Lesotho 
• Lewis Latimer House Museum
• Lily Auchincloss Foundation 
• Little Green Garden 
• Long Island City Partnership 
• Lott Street Block Association 
• Love Our Pool 
• Loving the Bronx 
• Lower East Side Ecology Center 
• Madison Square Park Conservancy 
• Marcus Garvey Park Alliance 
• Maria Hernandez Park Dog Run Pack 
• Marine Park Alliance
• Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center 
• Melrose New Generation 
• Miracle Garden 
• MHSG NYC
• Morris-Jumel Mansion 
• Morris Park BID 
• Morton Street Block Association 
• Municipal Art Society 
• Myrtle Ave BID 
• Nancercize 
• National Parks Conservation Association 
• Natural Areas Conservancy 
• New York Botanical Garden 
• New York Climate Save 
• New York Junior Tennis & Learning 
• New York League of Conservation Voters
• New York Restoration Project 
• Newtown Creek Alliance 
• North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE)
• North Brooklyn Parks Alliance 
• North Brooklyn Neighbors 
• NYC Audubon 
• NYC Community Garden Coalition 
• NYC H2O 
• Open Plans
• Paedergat Bay Condo II 
• Parent Child Relationship Association 
• Park Clinton Gardening
• Park Slope United
• Parks4Us 
• Prime Produce 
• Project Harmony, Inc. 
• Prospect Park Alliance 
• Prospect Park Community Committee 
• Prospect Pl/New York Ave Block Association 
• Q Gardens Community Farm 
• Queens County Farm Museum
• Queensboro Dance Festival 
• Randall's Island Park Alliance 
• Red Hook Conservancy 
• Red Hook West Resident Association, Inc. 
• Red Shed Community Garden 
• Richmond Hill Historical Society 
• RING Garden 
• River Garden 
• Riverside Park Conservancy 
• Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity (RISE) 
• Row New York 
• Rude Grooms 
• Rutgers Resident Association 
• Safe Zone Cross Culture Youth 
• Samaritan Daytop Village 
• Sara D. Roosevelt Park Coalition 
• Sedgwick Park Friends & Neighbors
• Seton Falls Park Preservation Coalition 
• Seward Park Conservancy 
• Sidewalk Labs 
• Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden 
• Staten Island Economic Development Corporation 
• Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness 
• Staten Island Women Who March 
• Stewards of Brust Park 
• Street Trees Super Steward 
• Survivor I Am / Friends of Bufano Park 
• Sunset Spark 
• Sutton Place Parks Conservancy 
• SWIM 
• Target Bronx Community Garden 
• Team Spartan Spades 
• The Bronx is Blooming 
• The Brotherhood Sister Sol 
• The Connected Chef 
• The Forest Park Trust
• The Freshkills Park Alliance 
• The Kensington Stewards 
• The Kingsbridge Heights Community Center 
• The League: A Distinguished Gentlemen's Movement, Inc 
• The Lowline 
• The Movement Creative 
• The Musical Seeds Project 
• The Nature Conservancy in New York 
• The New York Landmarks Conservancy 
• The Old Stone House and Gardens 
• The Trust for Public Land 
• Times Square Alliance 
• Tinker Tree Play/Care 
• Total Equity Now Harlem 
• Tour Prospect Park
• Transportation Alternatives 
• Trust for Governors Island 
• UFT/UCS 
• Union Square Partnership 
• United Athletic Association 
• United Nations International School 
• United We Stand Garden 
• UP-STAND 
• Upper Green Side 
• Uptown & Boogie Bicycle Advocacy 
• Van Cortlandt Park Alliance 
• Verna L. Judge Garden 
• Volunteers for Isham Park 
• Volunteers for Springfield Park, Inc. 
• W 181st St Beautification Project 
• Warren Community Garden 
• Washington Square Park Conservancy
• Washington Square Park Eco Projects 
• Waterfront Alliance 
• WE ACT for Environmental Justice 
• We Run Brownsville 
• West 400 Block Association 21st, 22nd & 23rd Streets 
• West 80s Neighborhood Association 
• Wetherby-Pembridge School 
• Wildlife Conservation Society 
• Women of Woodlawn 
• Woodlawn Taxpayer Association 
• Wyckoff House Museum (Wyckoff Hose & Association, Inc.)
• Yorkville Sports Association 
• Young Buck Sports