*PLEASE NOTE: Due to the coronavirus, the rally at City Hall has been cancelled, and we are hosting a digital rally instead.* 

At 9:00 a.m. on Friday, March 13th, the Play Fair Coalition will launch a digital rally on Twitter @NY4P, and unveil the second year of the Play Fair campaign through a series of videos featuring Coalition members and City Councilmembers sharing why they’re calling for increased funding for parks.

We encourage you to join us for the digital launch of year two of the Play Fair campaign! If you haven't already, follow New Yorkers for Parks @NY4P. Retweet us, and share your own posts about why NYC needs more funding for parks. Always use the hashtag #PlayFair so we can find and retweet you. Your involvement is critical to show decision-makers that parks deserve significant public investment.

Thanks to support from the Play Fair Coalition, last year we secured an historic investment of $44 million for the expense budget for NYC Parks. In order to sustain this win, we need you to join us at City Hall to keep the pressure on our elected officials to PLAY FAIR for PARKS!

This year, New Yorkers for Parks is partnering with Council Member Peter Koo, Chair of the Parks Committee; the New York League of Conservation Voters; DC37, the Parks workers’ union; and more than 215 other organizations that form the PLAY FAIR COALITION.

The Play Fair Coalition will continue our ask to the Mayor and the City Council to direct much-needed maintenance and operations funding to NYC Parks. Even with last year’s historic investment, NYC Parks still receives less than 1% of the City’s budget to take care of our beloved parks, gardens, forests, and open spaces. For too long, parks and gardens have been overlooked as essential infrastructure for healthy neighborhoods: now is the time to demand change and PLAY FAIR for PARKS!

THE PARKS COMMITTEE HEARING & TESTIMONY

The Council’s 10:00 am hearing is still scheduled to occur this Friday. There are two options for your testimony: Testify in person, if you feel comfortable doing so. Email your testimony to hearings@council.nyc.gov to submit it directly to the Council. Livestream the Council hearing via this link – the hearing will be in the Council Chambers, and the livestream will begin as soon as the hearing starts.

See these details on the Eventbrite event page

NY4P has created webinars with tips on how to prepare testimony for hearings at City Hall.

See our English language version one here: http://www.ny4p.org/data-and-research/research-library/webinar#2171

See our Spanish language version one here: http://www.ny4p.org/data-and-research/research-library/webinar#3225