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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 19-004
January 17, 2019
Contact: deppressoffice@dep.nyc.gov; (718) 595-6600

Department of Environmental Protection Joins NYC Parks to cut the Ribbon on New Green Playground at Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park in Brooklyn

CPI Lt. Joseph Petrosino Playground Ribbon Cutting

Green Infrastructure will Absorb 200,000 Gallons of Stormwater Each Year, Cleanup Gravesend Bay and Improve Air Quality

Photos Can Be Found on DEP’s Flickr Page

New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Vincent Sapienza joined NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, State Senator Andrew Gounardes, State Assembly Member Peter Abbate, Jr., City Council Member Justin Brannan, students and administrators from P.S. 112, and members of Community Board 11 for an official ribbon cutting ceremony at Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park, a Community Parks Initiative (CPI) site in south Brooklyn. The renovation of the park was funded with $4.99 million from Mayor de Blasio, which includes $355,000 in funding from DEP for green infrastructure elements that will absorb 200,000 gallons of stormwater each year and help to improve the health of Gravesend Bay.

DEP has committed approximately $50 million in funding for the construction of green infrastructure installations at CPI sites citywide. The green infrastructure will manage the precipitation that falls on the parks, and some of the surrounding streets, keeping it out of the combined sewer system and helping to reduce combined sewer overflows that sometimes occur during heavy rainfall. New York City has the most ambitious and aggressive green infrastructure program in the nation, with thousands of installations currently under construction across the city. In addition to managing stormwater, green infrastructure helps to improve air quality while also providing shade and lowering summertime temperatures.

“DEP is proud to be a partner in NYC Parks’ Community Parks Initiative which is transforming neighborhood parks across the city,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “The newly installed rain gardens and permeable pavement at this park will help to reduce stormwater runoff, improve the health of Gravesend Bay, and beautify the neighborhood.”

“This is the first major renovation of Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park in more than 25 years, and thanks to the Community Parks Initiative, it has finally gotten the upgrade it deserves,” said Commissioner Silver. “With new play areas for children, adult fitness equipment, and plenty of passive space, the new and improved Petrosino Park is a world class park that will serve this community for years to come.”

The park has been transformed with new play areas for children, planting beds, pathways, a spray shower, picnic tables, adult fitness equipment, basketball courts, fencing, retaining walls, ramps, drainage, water supply, lighting, and more welcoming entrances.

“Parks bring people together and build a sense of community. It’s been more than 25 years since the Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park—named for the City’s first Italian American police officer—was renovated, but thanks to Mayor de Blasio and the Community Parks Initiative, Bensonhurst now has a best-in-class space that children and adults can enjoy for years to come,” said Senator Gounardes.

“I am pleased to join my colleagues here today for the Ribbon Cutting of the newly renovated Lt. Joseph Petrosino Park,” said Assemblyman Abbate, Jr. “Living right up the block on 72nd Street and 14th Avenue, I remember many days and nights spent here in the park. I am pleased to have been here twenty-five years ago when it was last renovated and proud to be here today for the innovative renovation of the park.”

“Any time we can improve one of our local parks, count me in! I want to thank Mayor de Blasio for the nearly $5 million to make Lt Petrosino Park the gem of a park that Bensonhurst deserves,” said Council Member Brannan. “I know that local residents, especially kids, will get a lot of use out of this park. In the upcoming months, I look forward to hosting a special event here with Parks so stay tuned!”

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, CPI strives to make NYC Parks a more equitable and accessible parks system by investing in smaller parks that are located in New York City’s densely-populated neighborhoods with higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. Through CPI, the City is investing $318 million in capital dollars to make renovations to 67 parks citywide that have not undergone significant improvements in decades.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high quality drinking water each day to more than 9 million residents, including 8.5 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $19.4 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook at, or follow us on Twitter.

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