Election 2021
Mayoral Hopefuls Issue Competing Climate Plans
Jarrett Murphy |
The early attention suggests a new urgency around climate resiliency eight years after Superstorm Sandy’s toll.
Budget
Budget Axe and Pandemic Padlocks Have Put City’s Parks Under Pressure
Jarrett Murphy |
The mayor’s decision to open parks but ban swimming has prompted an outcry. Meanwhile, proposed budget cuts to the already underfunded Parks Department threaten to strain the system during a summer when New Yorkers will likely flood to those spaces.
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Now More Than Ever, NYC Needs Nature, and NYC’s Nature Needs Funding
Sarah Charlop-Powers and Emily Nobel Maxwell |
‘As we start to recover from this pandemic, it’s clear that New York City’s investments in natural areas need to be sustained for both their short-term benefits — like recreational space to socially distance and hundreds of green jobs — and long-term benefits — like climate change mitigation and adaptation.’
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Don’t Puncture the City’s Lungs By Cutting Park Funds
Eileen Monreale and Emily Mandelstam |
‘In these scary days of coronavirus, Central Park and the other green spaces in our city refresh and reassure us; even though we need to stay six feet apart due to social-distancing, the parks beckon.’
Government
Evidence of Growing Need for Capital in the City’s Aging Parks
Harry DiPrinzio |
There are signs decades of too little maintenance funding and of a greater need facing aging parks across the city—something advocates says could amount to a looming crisis.
biodiversity
Climate Change Poses Serious Challenges for City’s Natural Areas
Harry DiPrinzio |
Three experts on New York City’s environment on New York City’s natural areas, the biodiversity that exists within them and how climate change is going to affect them.
baseball
New Sports, More Players and Limited Space are a Challenge to NYC Parks
Marc Bussanich |
In 2017, the city’s Parks Department issued 8,100 athletic permits for 877,000 hours of athletic time on DPR’s 800 ballfields—satisfying most but nowhere near all the demand for space. There are indications that pressures around parks permits are increasing.
animals
Opinion: The Ban on Feeding Animals in City Parks is Smart Policy
Ben Williamson |
‘It’s somewhat counter-intuitive to suggest that, in order to help the park’s wildlife, we must resist the urge to feed them, but we’re not currently doing them any favors by continuing to do so.’
Agenda 2019
Opinion: Mr. Mayor, it’s Time to Play Fair for Parks
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‘Parks are critical urban infrastructure. Parks don’t just make New York City tolerable – they make it livable. They are the soul of our city. And they are at a breaking point.’
CITY VIEWS: OPINIONS and ANALYSIS
Opinion: Stop the Parks Dept.’s Proposed Ban on Animal Feeding
Roxanne Delgado |
The proposed rule change extending the Parks Department’s ban on feeding wildlife to include birds and squirrels (which are currently reprieved) is harmful and mean-spirited.
