July 11, 2017
By Kim Ahrens, NY4P Communications Intern
This summer our five Planning and Field Survey Interns will be spending much of their time with NY4P outside of the office and in NYC parks. They will be surveying usage and activity in several neighborhood parks in the Bronx then recording and summarizing the information collected. This information will be used to determine what those parks need to help better serve the community.
Jasmine Jones-Bynes is a Piscataway, NJ native entering her senior year at Rutgers University pursuing a degree in Urban Planning. She chose to intern in NYC with NY4P because Jasmine believes she “can make a difference in improving the equity for the city's low-income and minority residents.” Jasmine is an advocate for parks as she believes that every New Yorker should have a right to a local park. She is eager to see how the data she collects can be used to improve those parks. Her favorite activity to do in her local park is to swing on the swing set and Jasmine’s dream park would be an underwater park.
Hong (Ryan) Zhu is from Queens, NY and recently graduated from Energy Tech High School. Ryan is currently pursuing an associate’s degree in civil engineering from LaGuardia Community College through his high school’s six-year program. Hoping to gain surveying experience for his future goal of surveying infrastructure, Ryan joined the NY4P team. When hanging out in his local park, Ryan loves to play basketball or volleyball. Ryan’s dream park “would be a park near the water with a life-sized replica of the World War II warship, the IJN Ise in its 1944 configuration.”
Ab Juaner is NY4P’s graduate intern studying urban planning at NYU Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. Ab was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to Los Angeles in 2007. She chose to move across the country to NYC because she felt this city a great laboratory for urban planning. Ab’s obsession with the show, ‘Parks and Recreation’ contributed to her interest with the public policy work and projects of NY4P. Having the opportunity to combine community organizing, civic engagement, advocacy, and planning enticed Ab to become a part of NY4P. Ab loves having picnics in parks and in her free time enjoys playing competitive table tennis. In Ab’s dream park would an “aquarium and botanical garden with free science, art, cultural programs for all ages.”
Andrew Singh is currently majoring in Economics with a concentration in Finance and minoring in Public Policy and Public Affairs at the City College of New York. Andrew is a lifetime New Yorker as he was born and raised in the Bronx. After interning with Echoing Green as a Direct Impact intern, Andrew found a passion for working with non-profit organizations. Upon joining the NY4P team, Andrew was most excited to find out that he would be surveying parks in his home borough. His favorite activity to do in parks is go for jogs along the trails and take pictures of the surrounding landscape. In his dream park he would include, “a ten-mile scenic running path and a huge fitness complex.”
Awae Elnaw was born in Sudan and moved to NYC at a young age. In the fall, Awae will be entering Hunter College with an undecided major, but is interested in Business Management. Awae is also extremely passionate about parks, which drives him to volunteer some of his free time as a gardener to improve them. He is excited to learn what exactly goes into how a park functions with NY4P as far as how to volunteer, increase funds, and the philosophy behind what drives this kind of advocacy. In Awae’s dream park he would have “gardeners taking care of the plants at the park on a daily basis.”
Communications:
Kim Ahrens is our Communications Intern for the summer. She will be working alongside our Director of Communications on NY4P’s social media, blog posts, and newsletters. Kim is a rising senior at Hofstra University majoring in public relations. Residing in Seaford, NY, Kim commutes a few days a week into the office and occasionally works from home. Kim is interested in working and getting involved with the non-profit industry as she also has previous experience at The Make-A-Wish Foundation. Her favorite activity to do in a park is to play any sport such as baseball, soccer, or basketball. When asked what she would include if she could build her dream park, Kim said, “I would want a mini replica of Yankee Stadium to play on and unlimited ice cream.”