Improving Transparency in Conservancy Funding [NY4P]

Improving Transparency in Conservancy Funding

www.ny4p.org/_blog/news

The New York City Council seeks more thorough reporting on how private conservancies help the public park system thrive. We've made the case for more data sharing and data analysis, across conservancy-aided parks and other parks, to get at the true cost of making parks surpass expectations. Tupper Thomas gave this testimony on the issue at a January 29 hearing. 

www.ny4p.org / advocacy /otherissues / Conservancy_funding_01.29.2015 .PDF

'The city would need to partner in this reporting, by providing similar numbers on its spending in each park. This would help clarify what it takes to fund operations and programming, as well as what would be necessary to keep all parks as well-maintained as the ones we are looking at today.'

New York City Parks Await a Leader [NYTimes]

N.Y. / REGION

Anxiety Builds as New York City Parks Await a Leader

By LISA W. FODERARO  MARCH 14, 2014


www.nytimes.com /2014/03/15 /nyregion/ anxiety-builds-as-new-york-city-parks-await-a-leader


Anxiety Builds as New York City Parks Await a Leader http://nyti.ms/1e16w1k

  ...  “On the day to day, Liam and his team are really outstanding and up to the task,” said Councilman Mark Levine, who is chairman of the parks committee. “So I don’t think the department is suffering in the operational sense. But there are many policy questions, like how to deal with the conservancies and issues of inequity, which are complicated and political and require permanent leadership to address.”  ...
  “I’d certainly like to see a parks commissioner who is sensitive to the urgency of outer-borough park needs,” said Eric A. Seiff  ...  “The big events are cranking up, the ball fields are opening and the beaches need to be ready,” said Mr. Benepe, now a senior official at the nonprofit 

Trust for Public Land . “Getting up to speed with all that is not going to happen easily.”
The parks budget will also be debated this spring. Mr. de Blasio has released a preliminary city budget; a more detailed plan is due in April. 

 New Yorkers for Parks, an advocacy group, voiced frustration at the continued vacancy in the commissioner’s office. “Now is the time when we’d like to be working with the parks commissioner to develop funding priorities,” said Tupper Thomas, the executive director. “It’s tough to advocate for a better budget without those priorities in place.”  

A version of this article appears in print on March 15, 2014, on page A18
of the New York edition

APA : March 04

Astoria Park Alliance 

meets Tuesday, March 4th

at 6:30 PM at Steinway Reformed Church on Ditmars Blvd & 41st Street.

All are welcome!!!

Greetings from The Astoria Park Alliance, Martha and Jules!

Our next meeting is Tuesday night at 6:30 pm in the basement of the Steinway Reformed Church on the corner of 41st Street and Ditmars Boulevard.

The Astoria Park Alliance is creating a stronger organizational structure in order to support a more inclusive, greener vision of Astoria Park. We value your talent, input, and passion. We share your love of Astoria Park. We haven't seen you at a meeting in a while, and we miss you!

[]

Welcome, introductions, and Thank You for coming.

Minutes

6:30PM

Report on Meetings:

(@ 5 min each)

Jules and Martha meeting with Green Shores

re: CB 1 park DOT bike lane 

Martha meeting with Nichole Henderson - Partnerships for Parks -
Outreach Coordinator -  Western Queens

re: proposed membership fee implementation and precedents,
volunteer facilitation of youth groups

Martha Phone meeting with Norman Chan -
Parks and Recreation Manager

re: breaking ice

Fundraising Committee meeting report - Spring Fling in March

Martha phone meeting with Antonio Meloni of NY Anti Crime Agency
[CB1] re: Lighting on Hell Gate Bridge and Amtrak

Announcements 

Discussion:

(@ 5 min each)

Shore Fest planning

Membership recruitment

Volunteer facilitation

Committee duty definitions

Review of Drop Box procedures

7:30-2nd hour of working meeting
Budget and Finance reporting for notforprofits
15 min-Introduction to ‘best-practices’ record keeping and reporting. - Arlene
20 min-Q and A
20 min - Mission statement

Goodbyes!


astoriaparkalliance.blogspot.com /p/2014  2014 APA calendar 

• CUP - NY4P
• Volunteer dates March 15 and March 29 
• New York Cares Day April 12 

• ...

• Set working meeting agenda for next meeting (5)

 

• Weekend Walks - DOT  

• Meeting Reports:
• NY4Parks Charybdis Playground survey report
• Going Green in Queens [2014 Sept. conf.]
• Bike Lane CB comms meeting

• ...

Working agenda

• ... Draft 2014 APA calendar [Events and Volunteers] ...

[March/Spring  fundraising]

Playground-utilization-study- NY4P.org

• Old business / New business

Budget and Planning

• 
  
• Volunteers and New York Cares March and Spring
• Outdoor Fest May/June
• 
  

• Safety in the park - Call 311 for any problems or issues
• AP track in winter
• 
  

Queens Gazette Pdf 2013 Nov 27
www.qgazette.com /news / 2013-11-27/ PDF

2014 APA officers

2014  Fitness Classes and programming

@taraasaurusrex

facebook.com/pages/Astoria-Park-Alliance

@APAlliance

 astoriaparkalliance.blogspot.com

Astoria Park Alliance

[NY4P] Parks Platform 2013

NY4P Parks Platform 2013

www.NY4P.org/advocacy/parksplatform

Parks Platform 2013

OVERHAUL HOW THE PARKS DEPARTMENT IS FUNDED.

1) The Parks Department should have its own discretionary capital budget.

Unlike many capitally driven agencies, the Parks Department does not have a meaningful discretionary budget to enable it to plan and budget for capital projects over time in parks citywide. Rather, the Department is reliant on discretionary allocations from City Council Members and Borough Presidents whose priorities may not align with those of the Department.
 ...

NY4P's Parks Platform 2013 is a set of policy recommendations we're asking candidates running for New York City office to endorse.

The Parks Platform 2013 white paper is available here. [PDF]
Please join our parks advocacy campaign by clicking here to endorse the Platform.

New York City Council Member Julissa Ferreras (District 21, Queens)

New York City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (District 26, Queens)

Queens Community Board 11

www.NY4P.org/_blog/News/post/parksrally

Astoria Park Alliance blog pages:

Home ;

What we do; Get involved

You can help support; Give

APA Gallery ;

Astoria Park Shore Fest 2013 ;

AstoriaParkShoreFest.yolasite 2013 ;

2012 NY4P Report [Astoria Park] ;

www.facebook.com/pages/Astoria-Park-Alliance

@APAlliance

NY4P Rally for Parks and Community Gardens at City Hall! - Thursday August 15

Rally for Parks and Community Gardens 

at City Hall!

@NY4P

ny4p.org/advocacy/parksplatform 2013

ny4p.org/_blog/News//help-make-parks

• About Us

News

Rally for Parks and Community Gardens at City Hall!

Come to NY4P's rally at City Hall with the mayoral candidates!

Join New Yorkers for Parks and fellow open space advocates from every borough
as we call upon the Mayoral candidates to make parks and gardens an election-year priority.
We’ve invited the candidates to present their plans for the
city’s parks and open spaces on the steps of City Hall –
be the first to hear what they have to say about this important issue!
And bring your friends, neighbors, colleagues, family members –
anyone who cares about NYC's open spaces.

When: Thursday, August 15th at 11:00 AM
(Please arrive 15 minutes early to go through security.)
Where: City Hall Steps

The first 50 attendees before 11am will receive a free parks t-shirt! 
Please bring a sign with the name of your favorite park or garden – 
or come early to make one onsite!

A Little-Known Reason for Disparities in New York’s Parks [NYTimes]

A Little-Known Reason for Disparities in New York’s Parks

www.nytimes.com

With many smaller capital projects, the parks department is often constrained by the preferences of City Council members and borough presidents.

...

“No park system has all the money it wants to fix up everything, but New York’s parks have had a level of investment that dwarfs that of some other cities put together,” Mr. Benepe said.

Others insist that in a system with 1,700 parks, more capital financing is needed.

“Compared to other boroughs, we did O.K.,” said Mr. Spiegel, the retired parks official in Brooklyn. “But when you scratch below the surface, there are serious infrastructure problems.”

NY4P Parks Platform 2013

www.ny4p.org/advocacy/parksplatform

Full report here [5pg Pdf]

NY4P  online petition endorsing the Platform

:

OVERHAUL HOW THE PARKS DEPARTMENT IS FUNDED.

1) The Parks Department should have its own discretionary capital budget.

2) The Parks Department's maintenance budget should be increased, 
and funding for core functions should be baselined -
meaning automatically renewed - in its annual expense budget.

3) The Parks Department provides an essential city service and should be
staffed accordingly.

INCREASE THE TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY 
OF THE PARKS DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE 
EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES.

4) The Parks Department should know the cost to maintain every City park, 
as well as the amount of public and private funding that supports each.

5) The Parks Department should adopt the best practices of other capital projects 
agencies to improve its own process.

6) Organizations in public-private partnerships with the Parks Department 
should report annual revenues, expenses and other critical financial 
information in a simple, consistent manner to be shared on the Department's website.

RESTRICT AND STRONGLY REGULATE THE PRIVATIZATION 
 OF PARKLAND.

7) Parkland alienation should not occur unless no other land is available 
to serve an essential public need.

8) State and local laws regulating parkland alienation should be strengthened
to require earlier and broader notification of alienation actions, and to
mandate acre-for-acre replacement of lost parkland.

INTEGRATE PARKS PLANNING INTO NEIGHBORHOOD, 
CITYWIDE AND RESILIENCY PLANNING.

9) Parks are part of a broad network of public spaces, and City agencies 
should collaborate to maximize neighborhood open space and citywide
environmental benefits.

10) The City should be more proactive in involving neighborhood residents 
in their parks, both as volunteer stewards and in planning for the future.



www.ny4p.org/advocacy/parksplatform

NY4P Town Hall

ny4p.org/
NY4P_Hosts_Park_Advocates_at_Election-Year_Town_Hall

Park Advocates Speak Out at NY4P Town Hall 

NY4P hosted more than 100 park advocates representing every borough at a town hall and facilitated break-out sessions on April 11 at the National Museum of the American Indian in Lower Manhattan.

Advocate feedback will help shape our election-year Parks Platform 2013, a set of open space goals.

“The 2013 election offers a great opportunity for advocates to help steer the direction of parks and open space policy, both at the citywide and local levels,” said NY4P Executive Director Holly Leicht. “That’s why we’ve convened those who know the system best – park users from every borough – to tell us their priorities.”

Leicht began the evening with a presentation of ten draft goals, encompassing

• Parks Department funding,
• parkland privatization,
• equitable park resource distribution,
• and the integration of park and neighborhood planning.

Advocates then met in small facilitated groups to discuss and prioritize the goals and suggest additions.

"We received thoughtful, well-informed feedback that is helping us reshape the platform," said Leicht. "New York City is fortunate to have so many knowledgeable and committed parks advocates."

NY4P Parks Platform 2013 will be released in May.