On Saturday, October 17, New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P), City Parks Foundation, Partnerships for Parks, and NYC Parks are supporting over 60 parks partner organizations, community groups, and conservancies for an extraordinary day of civic engagement to help clean, beautify and maintain NYC’s open spaces. 

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, these spaces have become the center of life in NYC, serving an essential role as critical city infrastructure. Yet despite record-breaking use, funding for NYC Parks was cut by 14% in the city’s fiscal year 2021 budget, resulting in significant staff cuts. Now, New Yorkers are coming together and getting their hands dirty to make up for the reduction in maintenance and taking care of the city’s parks. Many of these projects are a part of It’s My Park, a year-round initiative that gives New Yorkers the opportunity to care for their local parks. The day is just one step in a sustained movement of civic engagement and advocacy for NYC’s parks and open spaces.

Typically, NY4P distributes daffodil bulbs to community groups for The Daffodil Project every fall. This year, due to COVID-19 safety precautions, we cannot safely distribute bulbs. Instead, we are continuing The Daffodil Project’s spirit of volunteerism and community engagement on this day celebrating civic engagement in all five boroughs. 

To find a cleanup event near you in need of volunteers check the map, below. Please note: some are at capacity and are not accepting new volunteers. Clean-up locations marked in blue are accepting volunteers, and sign-up links are included.