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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 313-03
October 30, 2003

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG, PARKS & RECREATION AND CITY PARKS FOUNDATION LAUNCH $25 MILLION PUBLIC/PRIVATE INITIATIVE TO BENEFIT 16 PARKS

Project to Build Community Involvement in Four Areas of City

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today joined Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and City Parks Foundation Executive Director David Rivel to launch a four-year initiative combining community outreach with capital improvements, new programming and additional staff in sixteen neighborhood parks in four areas of New York City – Astoria and the Long Island City waterfront in Queens; Harlem in Manhattan; Highbridge in the Bronx; and Red Hook in Brooklyn. The sixteen parks, selected in part for their potential for improvement, will receive $5 million in private funds raised by the City Parks Foundation (CPF), as well as benefit from an anticipated $20 million in capital projects that are either already funded by local and federal elected officials or expected over the course of the four-year project. The announcement was made with Council Member Joseph Addabbo, community members and funders at Rainey Park in Queens.

“This is a model public/private partnership.  The devoted resources to these parks combined with dedicated efforts to increase community involvement, will ensure their future and success,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “With ten of the sixteen parks targeted are waterfront parks, this is yet another example of the City’s commitment to restoring and bringing New Yorkers to closer to our waters.”

“This model acts like a sparkplug – spurring neighborhood involvement, attracting private donations, leveraging public funds allocated by elected officials, and empowering communities to work with Parks & Recreation and take ownership of neighborhood parks,” said Commissioner Benepe.

“What we are announcing today is a truly innovative idea—partnering government with the people it serves to develop a vision for a park and then work hand-in-hand with community members to make that vision a reality,” said David Rivel, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation.  “This unique public/private partnership would not be possible without the support of the Mayor, Commissioner Benepe of Parks & Recreation, and all of our funders.”

The $5 million private investment is expected to leverage additional funding over the four-year period, and will be administered by Partnerships for Parks, a joint program of CPF and Parks & Recreation.  Private funding raised to date by the City Parks Foundation towards this effort has included grants from The J.M. Kaplan Fund, The Commonwealth Fund and Starbucks Coffee.

In addition to the $5 million in private funding that will support programming and be used for additional staff to help support and organize volunteer groups, the City will maintain its annual commitment of maintenance, programming, and security personnel in the parks targeted by this project.  Parks & Recreation has approximately $10 million targeted to specific capital projects in these parks and plans to invest at least $10 million more over the next four years.  These funds, a mixture of Mayoral-funded requirements contracts and specific projects allocated by local and federal officials, will improve the parks infrastructure and jump-start future investment. 

Below are the four targeted areas listing some of the projects already underway:

Astoria and Long Island City Waterfront Parks, Queens

Parks included are Astoria, DeMarco, Hallets Cove, Hellgate, Queensbridge, Socrates, and Rainey parks. With almost $1.5 million from the City Council, Parks will perform necessary erosion control throughout Astoria Park.  With an additional $564,000, Parks is reconstructing the drainage for seven tennis courts in that park, making them more playable for the community.  Other efforts in this area will include projects that link seven separate waterfront parks that line the East River in Northwestern Queens and the diverse neighborhoods that use them. The projects include adding new programming and developing an implementation plan for a continuous waterfront greenway.

Historic Harlem Parks, Manhattan

This area includes the four historic Harlem parks – Jackie Robinson, Marcus Garvey, Morningside and St. Nicholas Parks. In Marcus Garvey Park, the City Council has allocated approximately $1 million towards projects that may include reconstruction of the landscape on the east side of the park or the amphitheater.  At Jackie Robinson Park, the City has just started a $700,000 project to do work on the recreation center and pool. New project efforts will include supporting the nascent Historic Harlem Parks Coalition, a partnership among the local park groups, to develop regional programs and to encourage park involvement on the local level.

The High Bridge & Highbridge Parks, Manhattan and The Bronx

The area includes the High Bridge, New York City’s oldest standing bridge, and the parks on the Bronx and Manhattan side of it.  The City is completing a $700,000 project to improve paths in Highbridge Park, and investing requirements funds in both Highbridge Parks to make additional improvements. Program efforts include restoring sections of the Highbridge Parks and cultivating a coalition of groups interested in restoring the Highbridge.  Highbridge Park in Manhattan has been the focus of an intensive private/public partnership with the New York Restoration Project (NYRP).  NYRP will be part of the coalition for this effort.

Red Hook Parks, Brooklyn

This area includes Red Hook Park and Recreation Center, Coffey Park, and Valentino Pier. $578,000 allocated by the federal government and the Borough President will provide bicycle and pedestrian enhancements to Valentino Park, including connections to the proposed Brooklyn Waterfront Trail.  Efforts will include working with local groups to develop a vision for the community’s open space and generate additional activity in parks through programming.

Over the course of the next four years, City Parks Foundation will spend its $5 million on programming in the four regions.  This will include concerts in Jackie Robinson, Marcus Garvey and Highbridge Parks; track and field instruction in Astoria and Red Hook Parks; puppet shows, readings and performing arts for kids in the Historic Harlem Parks; and golf instruction in Queensbridge Park. The $5 million will also support dedicated staff for each of the four regions, to help with community organizing and technical assistance for parks volunteers and groups.

This overall effort is an expansion of the pilot program run by Partnerships for Parks targeting six park projects. Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem and the Bronx River are two examples of parks that benefited from the pilot project.  In 1997, Partnerships for Parks, in collaboration with the National Park Service and the Appalachian Mountain Club, convened the Bronx River Working Group (now the Bronx River Alliance) to restore the Bronx River. Since then, Parks & Recreation and the Alliance have acquired over 40 acres of Bronx River waterfront, constructed over 1.5 miles of greenway, and removed more than 50 derelict cars.  Over $113 million in city, state and Federal funds has been secured for the restoration work.

Efforts at Marcus Garvey Park in Manhattan helped leverage new public and private investment and spurred the re-establishment of the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance to advocate for improvements and increased activities in the park.  Community activities and programming more than tripled at the park’s amphitheater and attracted high profile events like the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, now being produced by CPF for the first time.  Additional pilot projects begun in 1998 are Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, Crotona Park and St. James Park in the Bronx, and Baisely Pond Park in Queens.

City Parks Foundation, in its role as the only independent, non-profit organization to offer park programs throughout the five boroughs of New York City, will present free programs that encourage community involvement in these areas.  CPF’s programming will range from arts and education series to sports instruction and cultural events.

Partnerships for Parks was established by CPF and Parks & Recreation in 1995 to develop and support neighborhood parks groups and promote volunteerism.  Partnerships for Parks will provide staff and technical assistance as well as organize service projects and small grants to local groups.  Partnerships for Parks was the recipient of the prestigious “Innovations in American Government Award” in 2000.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler/Robert Lawson   (212) 788-2958

Megan Sheekey   ((Parks & Recreation))
(212) 360-1311

Debbie Ferraro (City Parks Foundation)   (212) 360-8162




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