As part of PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg has pledged to create more open spaces, ensuring that all New Yorkers live within a 10‐minute walk of a park. Despite the addition of more than 300 acres of new parkland in the last five years, New York City has less open space per person than almost any other major city in America. The Department of Parks and Recreation has teamed up with the Trust for Public Land to open 290 schoolyards in underserved neighborhoods and has committed $111 million in capital funding for playground improvements. They will be open after school, on weekends, and during school breaks

TPL has pledged to turn 30 schoolyards into model community parks from ideas that are generated by individual schools, children’s designs, and community partnerships. In addition, TPL will also oversee the community outreach and design participation of new playgrounds on another 161 sites. Opening these spaces after hours will make playgrounds available to approximately 360,000 New York children by 2030.

Three design teams at work developing a schematic design for their schoolyard at PS117 in Briarwood-Jamaica Hill Queens.

Design teams for the Bronx's PS64, the Trust for Public Land’s first completed PlaNYC schoolyard.

Listening sessions conducted by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation's design team for the first four sites currently under construction.