Statement from the Play Fair Coalition on the FY25 Budget
Once again, the Adams administration has decided not to prioritize the well-being of New Yorkers and their backyards: NYC parks. We are deeply concerned by the mayor’s cuts to the Parks Department announced in the adopted budget. The decision to overlook the calls of advocates, elected officials, and thousands of New Yorkers demanding adequate funding for parks further destabilizes an already struggling agency.
We are grateful that the City Council's dedication to parks fully restored second shifts and staved off an even-more severe cut and devastating agency-wide hiring freeze. However, there is no doubt that every New Yorker will notice the effects of such a shortsighted and harmful parks budget. These cuts demonstrate a disregard for the needs of New Yorkers across the city, setting an unrealistic expectation that a vast green infrastructure—1,942 parks, over 1,000 playgrounds, 800 athletic fields, 550 tennis courts, 60 public pools, 30 recreation centers, 14 miles of beaches, 12,000 acres of natural areas, and other community assets spread across five boroughs—could be managed with a shoestring budget amounting to less than 0.6% of the total city budget.
While the mayor has restored budgets of New York culture institutions and public libraries, our city’s parks have again been left behind. This is a fundamental issue of equity, public health, and safety. The millions of New Yorkers who rely every day on parks have been let down time and time again by Mayor Adams, despite numerous commitments made on the campaign trail and while in office.
Read the full Play Fair statement.
Play Fair for Parks is an advocacy campaign and 500+ member coalition calling for #1Percent4Parks and elevating parks issues citywide.
New Yorkers for Parks co-founded Play Fair along with the New York League of Conservation Voters and District Council 37, the NYC Parks workers’ union.
14% of New York City is parkland, but the NYC Parks Department's budget is just 0.6% of the total city budget. Parks are critical infrastructure which have been overlooked and underfunded for fifty years. The pandemic revealed longstanding inequities and highlighted the dire need to invest in the development and maintenance of a 21st-century parks system for all New Yorkers.
The Play Fair Coalition calls on the Mayor and City Council to adopt our Five Point Plan for Park Equity and dedicate 1% of the budget to NYC Parks.
Our Coalition has over 500 groups and organizations focused on parks, transportation, the environment, social justice, and infrastructure from across the five boroughs.
The Play Fair Coalition includes:
- 10th & Stuyvesant Streets Block Association
- 142nd St. Dog Run
- 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
- Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
- Bedford Mosholu Community Association
- Bergen-Kingston Block Association
- Berlin Rosen
- Big Apple Badminton
- Bissel Gardens BX
- Boerum Hill School for International Studies
- Boogie Down Bronx Runners
- 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 Mama
- Bronx Park East Community Association
- Bronx River Alliance
- Bronx River Community Garden
- Bronx Roots in Motion
- Brookfield Civic Association
- Brooklyn Bird Club
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan
- Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
- Brooklyn Greenway Initiative
- Brooklyn Parks & Open Space Coalition
- Brooklyn Lakeside Curling Club
- Brooklyn Queens Land Trust
- Buenavista Futbol Club Inc
- BX Arts Factory
- CABS Home Care
- Cadman Park Conservancy/Brooklyn War Memorial
- Carl Schurz Park Conservancy
- Carnegie Hill Neighbors
- Central Park Conservancy
- Center for an Urban Future
- ChaShaMa
- Chelsea Waterside Park Association
- Citizen Gardeners
- Citizens Budget Commission
- Citizens' Climate Lobby
- Citizens' Committee for Children
- City Growers
- City Island Rising
- City Parks Foundation
- Clean Bushwick Initiative
- Cleveland-Pitkin Block Association
- Clinton Garden
- Office of District 25 Council Member Shekar Krishnan
- 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)
- Court Square Civic Association
- Cosmopolitan Jr. Soccer League
- 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
- 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
- Forest Hills Green Team
- Fort Four Playground
- Fort Greene Park Conservancy
- Fort Greene Tennis Association
- 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 Bufano Park
- 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 East River Esplanade
- 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
- Good Neighbors of Park Slope
- 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
- Harlem Health Advocacy Partners
- Havemeyer Garden
- Health Essential Association
- Hellgate Hill-Highgate Community Association
- Highland Park Tennis
- Historic House Trust of New York City
- Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York
- Hudson River Park Friends
- Hudson River Park Trust
- 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
- J.M. Kaplan Fund
- Kelly St. Garden
- Kissena Corridor Park Conservancy, Inc.
- Laborers' Local 1010 (LIUNA)
- La Petit Versailles
- Le'alani S. Boykin Consulting
- Lenru Coop
- Less AIDS Lesotho
- Lewis Latimer House Museum
- Lily Auchincloss Foundation
- Little Island Park
- 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
- Marvel
- Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center
- Melrose New Generation
- Miracle Garden
- 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 Junior Tennis & Learning
- New York League of Conservation Voters
- New York Restoration Project
- New York Road Runners
- New York State Parks
- 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
- Patagonia UWS
- Park Clinton Gardening
- Park Slope United
- Parks4Us
- Play NYCe
- Prime Produce
- Project Harmony, Inc.
- Prospect Park Alliance
- Prospect Park Community Committee
- Prospect Pl/New York Ave Block Association
- PS166
- Q Gardens Community Farm
- Queens County Farm Museum
- Queensboro Dance Festival
- Randall's Island Park Alliance
- Rebuild by Design
- Red Hook Conservancy
- Red Hook West Resident Association, Inc.
- Red Shed Community Garden
- Richmond Hill Historical Society
- RING Garden
- Riverdale Main Streets Alliance
- Riverside Park Conservancy
- Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity (RISE)
- Row New York
- Rude Grooms
- Rutgers Resident Association
- Safe Zone Cross Culture Youth
- SAGE USA
- Samaritan Daytop Village
- Sara D. Roosevelt Park Coalition
- Sedgwick Park Friends & Neighbors
- SEEK Program at Medgar Evers College
- Seton Falls Park Preservation Coalition
- Seward Park Conservancy
- The Sierra Club of New York City
- 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
- Stewards of Ewen Park
- Street Trees Super Steward
- Survivor I Am
- 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 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
- Tottenville Garden Club
- 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
- Urban Justice Center
- 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
- Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice
2022: Play Fair Wins Historic Parks Funding in FY23
Fighting proposed cuts to parks funding in FY23, NY4P and the Play Fair Coalition held two rallies at City Hall, launched a petition with nearly 5,000 signatures, and issued a sign-on letter to signed by over half the City Council and four borough presidents.
Thanks to our collective advocacy, Mayor Adams and the City Council passed a budget with historic parks funding. At $624M, it remains the largest NYC Parks budget ever, surpassing the record set in FY22.
This significant investment in parks and parks workers included 715 new permanent NYC Parks jobs, City Council funding to expand parks equity and preserve natural areas, and renewed funding for gardeners.
However, while this budget indicates clear progress, the parks department remains underfunded and understaffed, with direct consequences for our parks and open spaces and all who use them. Mayor Adams must fulfill his commitment to fund parks at 1% of the city budget.
2021: Parks Budget Restoration
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.
Elected leaders heard our voices and restored $80M to NYC Parks budget for FY22, making it the largest NYC Parks budget ever adopted by the city!
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
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$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
$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
2020: Adapting to Change
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.
2019: Play Fair Launch
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