FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: Thursday, May 20, 2021
CONTACT: Nikki Havens, nicole.havens@berlinrosen.com, 925-357-5445
Play Fair Coalition and NYC Council Parks Committee Chair Peter Koo Host Virtual Rally to Restore $80 Million for Parks in the FY22 Budget
300+ advocates and electeds call for renewed City commitment to parks after crippling 14 percent budget cut in 2020 and deterioration of citywide parks conditions
What: Before the City Council Parks Committee Budget Hearing this Thursday, NYC Council Parks Committee Chair Peter Koo, New Yorkers for Parks, New York League of Conservation Voters, District Council 37 and other members of the 300+ strong Play Fair for Parks campaign are hosting a virtual rally to call on the City to restore $78.9 million in the Parks FY22 budget after a devastating 14 percent cut to the agency last year.
Last year’s budget left NYC Parks without the resources for critical maintenance and operations just when parks usage skyrocketed during the pandemic, and as a result citywide park conditions reached the lowest point since the City started keeping track in 2004. Despite $4.3 billion in federal aid to support NYC’s recovery and all the leading mayoral candidates committing to significantly increase the parks budget, the current executive budget still neglects parks and open space needs. We cannot afford to make that mistake this year; now is the time for NYC to not only reinvest but prioritize its parks.
When: Thursday, May 20th
10:30 - 11:30 am ET
Where: Register for the Play Fair Now Rally here
Who: CM Peter Koo, District 22 (Queens), NYC Council Parks Committee Chair
CM Adrienne Adams, District 28 (Queens), NYC Council
Adam Ganser, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Parks
Carlos Castell Croke, New York League of Conservation Voters
Masoom Moitra, El Puente
Joe Puleo, President, Local 983 (PEP Officers, Urban Park Rangers, City Seasonal Aides), DC37
Daniel Patrick, President, Local 1503 (Gardeners), DC37
Dilcy Benn, President, Local 1505 (City Park Workers and Seasonal workers), DC37
Sarah Charlop-Powers, Executive Director, Natural Areas Conservancy
Roxanne Delgado, Founder, Friends of Pelham Park
Pamela Pettyjohn, President, Coney Island Beautification Project
Nilka Martell, Loving the Bronx
Katherine Thompson, Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park
About Play Fair Coalition
Play Fair is a multiyear campaign to improve the quality of New York City parks, address climate change, and create green jobs. The Coalition includes more than 300 parks, transportation, environment, social justice, infrastructure advocates from across the five boroughs. In 2019, the Play Fair Coalition secured a historic $44 million increase in the expense budget of NYC Parks, the largest funding increase in nearly three decades. Last year, despite unprecedented challenges, the Coalition's campaigning in-person, by phone and email, and on Zoom resulted in 300 secured jobs for NYC Parks workers.
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