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    • Play Fair

    Play Fair for Parks is an advocacy campaign and 400+ member coalition calling for transformative investment in New York City's parks system and elevating parks issues citywide.

    New Yorkers for Parks co-founded Play Fair along with the New York League of Conservation Voters and District Council 37, the NYC Parks workers’ union.

    14% of New York City is parkland, but the New York City Parks Department's (NYC Parks) budget is just 0.6% of the total city budget. Parks are critical infrastructure which have been overlooked and underfunded for fifty years. The Covid-19 pandemic revealed longstanding inequities and highlighted the dire need to invest in the development and maintenance of a 21st-century parks system for all New Yorkers.

    The Play Fair Coalition calls on the Mayor and City Council to adopt our Parks 2030 platform and dedicate at least 1% of the city budget to fund NYC Parks maintenance and operations.

    Our Coalition has over 400 groups and organizations focused on parks, transportation, the environment, social justice, and infrastructure from across the five boroughs.

    The Play Fair Coalition includes:

    2026 Advocacy Calendar

    *Please note this calendar is subject to change. We will update with additional information as it becomes available.

    February

    • Tuesday, February 17th: Mayor Mamdani releases FY27 Preliminary Budget

    March

    • Date TBD: Play Fair rally at City Hall & testimony at the City Council Parks Committee Preliminary Budget Hearing
    • Tuesday, March 10th: Play Fair Lunch & Learn on Zoom

    April 

    • Tabling w/ Play Fair materials at Earth Month event(s) in your park
    • Tuesday, April 14th: Play Fair Lunch & Learn on Zoom
    • Saturday, April 18th, 11am - 1 pm: Harlem Parks Walk & Talk

    May

    • Date TBD: Phone banking/outreach to Council Members
    • Play Fair rally/advocacy action 
    • Tuesday, May 12th: Play Fair Lunch & Learn on Zoom

    June

    • By June 30th: Final FY2027 budget adopted