Silly electeds prefer tweeding to budgeting

Here we have State Senator/Public Advocate candidate Daniel Squadron promoting the idea that not only are public-private partnerships good, but that we should fund our entire park system off the back of the Central Park Conservancy. Peter Vallone has endorsed the idea in the City Council.

And then there's NYC Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill DeBlasio shilling for the same thing over the weekend at the Unisphere.

No morons, we shouldn't rely on money from charities. We should stop the corporate welfare and tweeding programs and use that money to fund park maintenance, as required by law. You guys also realize that forcing a charity to fund other charities is most likely unconstitutional, right?

Here's former Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, his biggest defender, Holly Leicht of New Yorkers for Parks - a partner group with the NYC Parks Dept, and a landscape architect who reaped the benefits of working for the Central Park Conservancy, defending having charity pay for necessities, vs. Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates, who wants the city budget to allocate adequate funding.

Times covers up Parks Dept's Heritage Field debacle

From A Walk in the Park:

The blogosphere lit up on Friday after the New York Times published an embarrassing front page above the fold story on the replacement parks as part of the building of the New Yankee Stadium. Apparently the 'Newspaper of Record' couldn't find a single person who had anything negative to say about anything. The problem is they did.

First, Field Of Schemes's Neil deMause weighed in and then Atlantic Yards Report's Norman Oder. That in turn prompted a response from one of the contributors and editor of this news site, Geoffrey Croft, to respond.

The city's vile rhetoric was not exclusive to the Times. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe continues the administration's, "Who Are You Going To Believe, Me Or Your Lying Eyes?" campaign in comments to WNYC where he insults the South Bronx community, who for the rest of their lives, will be impacted by the actions of Mr. Benepe's boss and state legislators. The Bloomberg administration apparently thinks its not enough to cause irreparable harm but also to continue to insult the poorest community in the country.

The Yankees Win. The Yankees Win. - Geoffrey Croft

From a letter sent to Atlantic Yards Report by the author of A Walk in the Park:

The Yankee Stadium controversy has not gone down the memory hole, as the Times would have its readers believe. No, the Times has instead chosen to ignore this issue as they have done since Day One. Unfortunately for Times readers the editors never felt this was a story so is was ignored. During the Stadium and parkland approval process a Times editor famously said of the community not being aware of the impending project and initially not mobilizing opposition more quickly and strongly, "they should have known."

For Bronx residents - and for the taxpayers at large - it's not enough they will have to forever endure the impacts of this irresponsible project, apparently they will now have to continue to suffer the indignity of irresponsible coverage in the "Newspaper of Record."

According to the New York Times, everything is swell in Yankee replacement park land. I'm happy the Times reporter thought the fields looked nice, and her reporting discovered people playing on them on the first day they were open felt the same. With the enormous taxpayer funds used to build them and the delay is this really a story, much less a front-page story? Obviously not.

They chose not to report on a story that impacts some of the poorest people in the country. This is shameful, irresponsible, but unfortunately not surprising.

For the truth, read the Broken Promises report.

COUNCIL MEMBER ELIZABETH CROWLEY DASHES HOPES FOR ST. SAVIOUR’S PARK SPACE

Impetuous decision has dire consequences

Last week, park and community advocates including the Juniper Park Civic Association, Newtown Historical Society and NYC Park Advocates were shocked to learn that the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation and Council Member Elizabeth Crowley have dropped their bid to acquire the 1.5-acre former site of St. Saviour’s Church in Maspeth, Queens. The groups had been working for 5 years to have this site converted into parkland before the decision to quit was made by city officials without any community notification or input.

“I was dumbfounded when I received a call from a Daily News reporter on Thursday, November 10th, asking me for my reaction to the Parks Dept’s decision to nix the acquisition of the St. Saviour’s site,” said Christina Wilkinson, President of Newtown Historical Society. “It was news to me and every other volunteer involved in this project. As late as November 1st, Parks had indicated that they were ready to proceed with ULURP if and when the elected officials were to raise the money required for the process and we had been working up until this point to find this money.”

Crowley had called Wilkinson personally on Tuesday, November 8th and told her of the opportunity to acquire a 14,875 sq ft property at the corner of 61st Street and Maspeth Avenue from Martin Luther School, which currently uses the site as an accessory parking lot. Crowley said she needed to use the money she had already raised for St. Saviour’s or she might lose it during the City’s upcoming budget modification process. It should be noted that the loss of elected officials’ allocated capital funding happens frequently. It may delay projects, but it rarely kills them. It is incumbent upon elected officials to replace lost monies during subsequent budgets and to seek out and lobby for Mayoral, Speaker and Queens Delegation funding. (During her time in the City Council, Elizabeth Crowley has not secured a dime of funding from any of these sources and this year did not put any money toward the St. Saviour’s acquisition.)

Crowley said that Parks was on board with acquiring the Martin Luther site and had asked DCAS to appraise the property so that negotiations with the school could commence.

“Crowley assured me that it was her intention to use some of her funding toward the Martin Luther site, and then continue to seek other green space in Maspeth, including the St. Saviour’s site,” Wilkinson said. “I took her at her word. She asked me to gather community feedback on her proposal. I was in the process of doing so when I found out that she had gone to the Daily News with her idea and was pitching the Martin Luther site as a “replacement” for the St. Saviour’s site. I can’t believe they torpedoed this project which has borough-wide and city hall support, in return for a much smaller site that is nothing but a maybe at this point and is not in jeopardy of being sold or developed as the St. Saviour’s site is.”

The irresponsible decision by Council Member Crowley and the Parks Dept to prematurely announce the non-guaranteed acquisition of the 14,785 sq ft Martin Luther site as a “replacement” for the 62,500 sq ft. St. Saviour's project means that the original project is most likely ineligible for $1.2M from the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant Mitigation Funding that it was being considered for. St. Saviour's had been listed as a priority 2 finalist, which meant it could have been eligible for funding had any of the four priority 1 projects been found to be unfeasible. As was mentioned in the DEC letter to the City Parks Foundation dated 10/25/11, the determination of the feasibility is to be made within 60 days, or by December 25th.

In addition, as of November 11th, State Senator Joseph Addabbo was waiting for a return call from DEC regarding $300,000 of unallocated priority 1 settlement money and if some of it could be used to cover the St. Saviour’s ULURP fees now. Addabbo also was in the process of finding out whether part of a grant from his predecessor, former State Senator Serf Maltese, could have covered the ULURP costs. Assembly Member Cathy Nolan was quoted in a story by the Times Ledger dated 11/12, “I will be working with other elected officials to advocate again for St. Saviour’s. The destruction of the church and yard has been a tragedy that needs to be addressed.” Apparently, Crowley never informed the other elected officials representing the area about her plan to pull the rug out from under St. Saviour’s in order to claim a win at the Martin Luther site.

This unforeseen development also means that the tentative offer secured by Maspeth activist Tony Nunziato from NYSDOT to fund the construction of the park at St. Saviour’s as part of the Kosciuszko bridge replacement project is also in jeopardy. Elizabeth Crowley could not wait to run to the media and announce her "Maspeth park victory" – in effect, disqualifying the community from receiving funding for the only project it had on the DEC and NYSDOT lists and slapping her own colleagues in the face in the process.

Juniper Park Civic Association President Robert Holden said, “Unfortunately it appears that Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley has given up the fight to save one of the most historic sites in the City of New York and Maspeth’s most important landmark. I’m not surprised. After failing to convince city officials of its importance, Crowley has also given up the fight to reassemble St. Saviour’s church, one of the last remaining Carpenter Gothic-style buildings designed by world famous architect, Richard Upjohn in 1847. Saving the church and land were two of Crowley’s campaign promises. While the church still sits in trailers in West Maspeth, the St. Saviour’s historic land now contains warehouses as symbolic and grotesque monuments to the failure of the City of New York and our elected officials to recognize the importance of saving the last remaining landmarks of Maspeth’s history for future generations to enjoy.”

In spite of this avoidable setback, Juniper Park Civic Association, Newtown Historical Society and NYC Park Advocates will not be giving up on their proposal to convert the St. Saviour’s site into a park and we call on the Bloomberg administration and local elected officials to work together toward this goal and make it happen. Maspeth is sorely underserved by parkland and needs and deserves to have the historic St. Saviour’s site, the last sizable piece of open space left in the area, preserved as a park.

(Above text from press release)

From A Walk in the Park:

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Joshua Laird last week reiterated to a Walk In The Park that the Parks Department had not ruled out using eminent domain to acquire the St. Saviour's site.

People are also wondering that since the acquisition of the St. Saviour's site is much further along, why going after the Martin Luther site is not being done in tandem with the St. Saviour's site.

Multiple people who have been involved with the process for many years from the community say this decision was made without any community consultation or participation.

The community has also asked that since allocation funds have been earmarked for St. Saviour's, what guarantee is there that these funds will be available for the Martin Luther site?

If you build it, they won't come

From the Daily News:

Dozens of new ballfields in the sprawling park beneath the RFK-Triborough Bridge went unused last summer by the kids who need them most, the city parks boss admits.

And with school almost out for summer, advocates are complaining the $120 million revamp of Randalls Island Park in early 2010 created a playground for the rich and took crucial dollars from neighborhood ballfields.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe cited the low traffic earlier this year to justify plans for a private sports camp.

"Fields on Randalls Island have gone largely unused during weekday daytime hours in July and August, and thus availability should not be an issue," he wrote City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito in January.

The deal called for Florida-based IMG Academies to operate the camp on Randalls Island after donating $200,000 to the Randalls Island Sports Foundation. But plans for the $895-a-week camp fell through in April, with IMG citing low enrollment.

Mark-Viverito (D-East Harlem/Bronx) slammed the pricey park rehab, claiming thousands of trees were cut down to make way for the artificial turf fields.

"Why would you build so many fields and then have a problem in terms of utilization?" she asked. "It was shortsighted and now we're paying the price."

Better food at the beach

From the NY Times:

In his annual “opening Rockaway Beach” news conference Friday morning on the boardwalk, the city parks commissioner, Adrian Benepe, cautioned swimmers as he always does (“only when lifeguards are present” and “swim sober”) and lauded the city’s “14 miles of sand and water,” while announcing the opening of a mile of new boardwalk in sections between Beach 23d Street and Beach 81st Street.

And oh, yes, he said, as Brooklyn Based reported last week, there will be a robust menu of new specialty booths and carts organized by David Selig and Andrew Day Field, the owners of Rockaway Taco. But, the commissioner said, the vendors will open “subject to the successful completion of contract negotiations, and other required review and approvals.” Translation: there are still a few red-tape formalities to be dispensed with.

“We’re dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s now,” he said in a telephone interview.

The parks department has announced that it is trying to get better food vendors in the parks and the commissioner said the city “really wanted to get culinary diversity out to the beach.”

“We’ll have traditional burgers and hot dogs and fries,” he added, “but also a very exciting lineup of wider offerings.”

From the Daily News:

Residents and local officials are hoping the revamped concessions, along with other surfside events, will help lure more visitors to the area.

"This will add to the overall experience people have when they go to Rockaway and it is long overdue," said City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park). "I think it's a shame that when you go to Coney Island, you have wonderful attractions and restaurants and, when you come to Rockaway, you have parts of the boardwalk that are desolate."

Ulrich pointed out that a resurgence in the surfing community has helped spark interest in the once-thriving beach resort.

Here's a movie about Rockaway Taco for you to enjoy on this holiday.

Parks Commissioner finds splendor in the grass

From the Daily News (no link):

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall will cut the ribbon tomorrow on a new cricket field in Baisley Pond Park.

The natural grass field directs runoff water to an environmentally friendly drainage system of planted bioswales, or landscape elements that remove silt and pollution from water.

Parks officials said the new system allows for the planting of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. - Nick Hirshon

Interesting. I thought we couldn't have grass sports fields anymore because they suffer too much wear and tear and are too troublesome to maintain. In fact, the commissioner sang a different tune to the NY Times in 2009:

Mr. Benepe also challenged the notion that artificial turf runs counter to the mayor’s vision of a leafier, greener New York, noting that a field made of recycled materials could be more environmentally friendly than grass, which requires pesticides, herbicides, aeration and millions of gallons of water.

“The so-called natural field leaves a large carbon footprint,” Mr. Benepe said. “You won’t find a lawn in nature.”

But now grass fields are environmentally friendly? Hmmm. This is one flip-flop I welcome. It's a shame you had to put the plastic shit in so many parks before you came to your senses. And we'll be expecting the same type of fields in all our parks from now on. What's good enough for Baisley Pond Park should be good enough for the rest of the city.

Photo from NY Times.

Park at St. Saviour's looking more likely

From the Daily News:

Talks to save a portion of the historic St. Saviour's property for parkland are heating up as the owner prepares to construct warehouses on the Maspeth site.

City Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe told civic leaders last week his agency has been working with elected officials and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to hash out a deal with Maspeth Development LLC, which owns the 1.5-acre property.

Supporters have been scrambling to pool together funds to buy the site. Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) have set aside more than $2 million.

"I am hopeful," said civic activist Christina Wilkinson, who has spearheaded efforts to preserve and save the site. "While there are talks, there is hope."

The flurry of calls and activity comes just days after owner Scott Kushnik got approvals from the Buildings Department to construct warehouses on a portion of the land, located at 57th Road and 58th St. "Even if we develop the site, the door is open," said Kushnik, who paid about $6 million for the site several years ago. "This isn't a lost cause."

Kushnik hit resistance when he tried to build housing on the property. He said he has been speaking with city officials but said their offers have been low. "I've been bleeding $30,000 a month here for four years," he said. "If I break even, I will be lucky."

Adrian hogs the spotlight

From Gothamist:

[Yesterday] Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe released a red-tailed hawk who was rescued and rehabilitated over the summer. The six-month-old bird of prey's nest fell off an air-conditioning unit (seriously, those things are dangerous if magical) and some bird lovers scooped him up and took him to a licensed falconer. The male hawk's return to the wild witnessed by Urban Park Rangers, Bobby Horvath of Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation (who helped care for the hawk) and first and second graders from P.S. 83 and the Dalton School.

Apparently, Mr. Benepe "forgot" to invite the folks who actually helped rescue the hawk - not to mention thank those who created the opportunity for him to try to get some positive publicity.

The collaborative effort included three South Bronx residents - Lee Rivera, Danny Chervoni and Friends of Brook Park president Harry Bubbins, two Brook Park volunteers, Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates and lots of good-old-fashioned South Bronx goodwill along the way.

But this is what we can expect from a guy who slaps his name on the side of tree removal contractors' trucks.

Community gardens endangered

From the Daily News:

Gardeners are upset the proposed rules leave the door open for development of the plots.

The rules were drafted to replace a 2002 agreement with then-state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer which preserved hundreds of gardens, settling a battle between gardeners and the Giuliani administration.

The agreement, which expires next month, promised "permanent protection to hundreds of community gardens...a fair process for reviewing future proposals to develop other garden properties," Bloomberg said in announcing the 2002 agreement.

The new rules allow any garden property to be sold if the City Council approves, though officials say they have no current plans to get rid of any of them.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said Bloomberg was not guaranteeing gardens would be preserved forever.

"Permanent protection to hundreds of community gardens, not permanent gardens," he said.

"The intention is to help community gardens continue to succeed," Benepe added. "It is unfortunate there is such strong misperception of this."

What? Can someone translate that, please?

Unisphere fountains back on

From the Times Ledger:

The Unisphere and its magnificent fountains have been returned to their full glory for the first time since the 1964 World’s Fair, city Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said at the ribbon-cutting of the newly restored fountains Thursday morning.

Dozens of streams of water shot high into the air around the iconic landmark in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, delighting the community leaders, politicians and parkgoers who gathered there to see the fountains spray once again.

Many of the gathered luminaries had attended the fair, and Borough President Helen Marshall said she had even attended the 1939 World’s Fair as a young girl. For Marshall and Benepe, the event was the culmination of a diligent effort to get $1.9 million designated for the fountain work.

Marshall said she was proud to see the beloved construction brought back to life for the first time in years, a testament to the diversity of Queens and a shining beacon to immigrants looking to move to the borough.

...after a countdown from ten, and those in attendance could not keep their eyes off the most famous structure in Queens, which is no longer dry and neglected.

I guess it's almost time for the U.S. Open again.

Parks are important!

According to an Adrian Benepe interview on NY1, the Parks Dept has not lost funding, and they are not going to stop building new parks just because there is a recession. They've learned the mistakes of the past and will not repeat them. Parks are a necessity, not a luxury, says Mr. Benepe.

But that apparently only applies to certain neighborhoods and not others, as we have witnessed.

$15.7M for "bike superhighway"

From the NY Times:

Now, after two and a half years and $15.7 million worth of construction, the promenade has been restored to the straight and narrow, giving the West Side of Manhattan a continuous bike path from the Battery to Riverbank State Park at 137th Street. With some inland detours, the path continues to Dyckman Street north of the George Washington Bridge.

To build the bike path extension, which is suspended over the water like a concrete bridge or boardwalk, workers had to sink 102 pilings into bedrock, 78 of them in the water, Mr. Benepe said. “It was incredible, the marine engineering needed,” he said. “That’s why this was an expensive and time-consuming project.”

Of the $15.7 million cost, $15 million was allocated by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg from city funds, $400,000 was allocated by City Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, and $300,000 came from a federal transportation grant administered by the state.

“We were lucky to have a healthy economy, at least the first two terms, so a lot of money was put in to build this kind of infrastructure,” Mr. Benepe said.

That's funny, the entire time Bloomberg was turning down park projects in Queens and the excuse was that the City had to conserve money for the future. What he meant to say was that he would rather spend the money in Manhattan.

Which one will the city choose: park or warehouses?

From A Walk in the Park:

“We believe the residents of Maspeth would benefit from more and better access to public parkland," Mr. Benepe wrote. "The owners of the St. Saviour's site previously indicated their intention to develop the land for housing and had no interest in selling the land to the City. While we could not justify the forcible acquisition of the site through condemnation, we would consider purchasing the land if the current owners are now willing sellers. In addition to the completion of a rigorous municipal land use review process, this would require specific funding covering the full purchase price of the property, its improvement as a park and the cost of maintaining the site into the future. At this time we have no such funding, but we would welcome allocations from the area's local elected officials.”

While this represented a change of heart by the Parks Department, which previously said they were not interested in acquiring the site at all, Benepe’s letter was very troubling in that he stated that the community and local elected officials must not only commit money to purchase the property and build the park but maintain the site in the future as well. This directive favors wealthier communities. Why is this community being asked to come up with these funds? The decision to allocate Mayoral funds for these vital public purposes should not be based in politics but should instead be needs based. We also notice that other communities that are getting new parks are not being issued ultimatums like this. Park maintenance is something our tax dollars are supposed to pay for automatically from the city's expense budget. According to the City Charter, the Parks Department is responsible for this. It shouldn’t be up to the elected officials in each community to designate regular maintenance as special member items, nor is it appropriate for them to be asked to do so. The truth is that if the wasteful spending that goes on in this city were curbed, there would be money for a new park project in every community with funds left to spare.

Benepe's statement was also disconcerting because it revealed the administration’s preference for catering to developers’ interests at the expense of the greater interests of the community. Right off the bat, the Bloomberg administration removed eminent domain from consideration. "While we could not justify the forcible acquisition of the site through condemnation..." Mr. Benepe wrote. Being that parks have always been considered a public use, and given that the site is now a blight on the community and that property owners tend to inflate their asking prices when in negotiations with the City, the declaration is rather startling.

Borough President Helen Marshall’s office asked the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to conduct an appraisal of the property. They did, but would not release that figure publicly or confidentially to the elected official who asked for it. The market value of the property as listed by the Department of Finance is $2.5M. The owners came back with an asking price of $9M. Not having eminent domain as an option will make negotiation that much more difficult.

Independent Budget Office Director Ronnie Lowenstein on March 4th reported to the City Council Finance Committee that the City of New York would end Fiscal Year 2009-2010 with a surplus of almost $3 billion. Apparently the city's financial straits are nowhere near as dire as had been predicted when Benepe issued his ultimatum last summer. Compared to the more than $100M the Parks Department has already blown on a golf course in the Bronx and $64M they are pouring into an amphitheater in Coney Island, the St. Saviour's project would be a drop in the budgetary bucket.

Sorry...no luxury condos or sports stadiums, no eminent domain. That's the Bloomberg way. BTW, Bloomberg found $16M for a bike path along the Hudson (even though the city has no money).

DEC may throw monkey wrench into City's reservoir plan

From the Queens Ledger:

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is considering classifying the Ridgewood Reservoir a state-regulated freshwater wetlands, this paper has learned.

The designation would subject the city's planned redevelopment of the reservoir to a state review, and would set the stage for a possible confrontation over the site with the Bloomberg Administration.

The city is planning a $26 million project that would convert part of the three-basin reservoir into a recreation area, despite objections from residents who want the site protected as a natural preserve.

Thomas Panzone, a DEC spokesperson, confirmed the state is eyeing the 160-year-old reservoir, which was decommissioned in 1989 and has reverted back into unkempt parkland.

“DEC is reviewing whether or not the Ridgewood Reservoir should be classified as a state-regulated freshwater wetland,” Panzone said in an email. If that happens any planned changes to the site would be subject to review by the state, and could require a permit under the state's Freshwater Wetland regulations, he said.

The full implications of a wetlands designation on the city's plans for the reservoir remain unclear. But someone with knowledge of the negotiations between the city and state said the DEC's interest has complicated the city's efforts to remake the reservoir.

The city is planning to start phase one work - to upgrade lights and fencing around the reservoir and rebuild a pathway between the second and third basins - this fall.

But the thought of complex wetlands regulations has raised concerns inside the Parks Department over its phase two plans to replace part of the third basin with an active recreation area. The work could prove difficult if the site were protected.

While this is welcome news, I am confused about something. Back in January, the Parks Department said they were going to release 3 plans for the reservoir by early March and receive public input on them. So why were they going to the DEC for approval for "its phase two plans to replace part of the third basin with an active recreation area"???

Adrian and Dottie - you've been BUSTED!!!!

NY4P's new director has not-so-stellar record

In the latest cruel ironic twist to come from the Bloomberg administration, Lee Stuart has been named Director of New Yorkers for Parks, a quasi-governmental group charged with protecting park resources, as well as community gardens.

From A Walk in the Park:

While Ms. Stuart won accolades for her role in developing housing through the Nehemiah program, others criticized her role in the destruction of vibrant community green-spaces for apartments that are out of the reach of local residents. Critics charged that at the time the median income in the districts with threatened gardens ranged from $14,000-$19,000/year while the so-called “affordable housing” had minimum income requirements of $32,000/year. At the same time numerous gardens were targeted for housing, including Cabo Rojo, Hostos-Crimmins, Eagle, Shakespeare, and Salinas Community Gardens. The Hostos-Crimmins Garden at 141st Street in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx was the site of one intense battle.

"I am dismayed that New Yorkers for Parks has chosen Lee Stuart to be their new Executive Director," said Activist JK Canepa, who worked on the campaign to defend Hostos-Crimmins. "In her capacity at South Bronx Churches' Nehemiah Corporation, she showed great insensitivity to the beloved Hostos-Crimmins Garden in the South Bronx, choosing instead to refuse to work with the gentle, elderly people who created, tended, enjoyed and shared their garden… nor to the volunteers who tried to find common ground between SBC and the gardeners. Housing and gardens can successfully go together, but only if there is communication between the groups.

Statement from Miss Stuart:

"I am excited to be the new Executive Director of New Yorkers for Parks. For many years, I have supported community gardens both professionally and personally. Community gardens give people an opportunity to nurture themselves and the ground beneath in an otherwise concrete city. I look forward to working with the New York Community Garden Coalition, and other park advocates as they do tremendous work to improve their neighborhoods throughout New York City."

Ms. Stuart's credibility was called into question on March 24th during the City Council parks budget hearing at City Hall. She began her testimony saying that NY4P's was the city's only independent organization dedicated to parks. Similarly, on their website, in literature, reports, and in correspondences to funders, they contend that they are "the only independent watchdog for all the city’s parks, beaches and playgrounds. NY4P also represents their non-profit as "independent" while they are in fact a partner with the city according to the Parks Department. This relationship is clearly evidenced on the Parks Department's home page (bottom, right hand side).

During budget the hearing, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe twice thanked their "friends" NY4P's. In an awkward moment for the parks commissioner on Wednesday's Brain Lehrer Show, Mr. Benepe said NY4P's were the only "legitimate" park advocacy group. In Saturday's New York Times, Ms. Stuart said they supported the new park vending rules for artists being proposed by the administration. However the Times did not identify NY4P's various relationships and connections to the Parks Department, nor to the Co-Chair of the Union Square Partnership BID, nor to Danny Meyer who is on NY4P's board. The Union Square Partnership has been publicly critical of what they consider "congestion" being caused by vendors in Union Square Park. The park is one of the four targeted for a dramatic reduction in vendors.

For more information on NY4P's relationship with the Bloomberg administration go to Crain's New York Business and scroll to the Reader's Comments below.

"New Yorkers for Parks is a partner of the Parks Department and is not a truly independent group," one reader posted. "This relationship is clearly advertised on the Parks Department's own homepage. They are inextricably linked to the government and special-interests (e.g., Danny Meyer, shared Board members with Central Park Conservancy, etc.). "

Anyone wanna bet that she gives the thumbs up to the bulldozing of the Ridgewood Reservoir?

Benepe plans to limit artists in parks

From the Daily News:

The Parks Department wants to limit the number of painters, photographers and other artists who display their wares in popular Manhattan parks - and the artists aren't happy.

"People come here to brighten their mood, during their lunch hour, after work," said painter Jessie Bowers, 35, of Brooklyn, who goes by the name Cypha. "If you spread us out, this part of the park would lose its essence."

He was one of at least 28 artists selling their work in Union Square Park, where the city wants to limit the number to 18 first-come, first-served spots.

There would be just nine spots for artists in Battery Park, 24 flanking the Metropolitan Museum of Art, four at Columbus Circle and five on the High Line.

Artists face no limits now, thanks to a series of court rulings giving them First Amendment protection. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe says that has led to chaos and overcrowding.

"It's an attempt to get a little bit of organization back," Benepe said.

No, it's more likely an attempt to make money.

Appointing unqualified friends to high places

From A Walk in the Park:

Larry Scott Blackmon, a 35-year-old political operative whose recent employment included two consecutive stints in Bloomberg's re-election campaigns, has landed a choice job in the green empire. Bloomberg appointed him to serve as a Deputy Parks Commissioner making $169,560 a year according to the NY Post — thirty three thousand dollars less than Parks Commissioner Benepe. The DPR announced internally last week that he will be working with long-time Assistant Parks Commissioner Jack T. Linn on community outreach. Mr. Linn, who has decades of experience in the agency will be making thirty grand less than Mr. Blackmon. It pays to be connected.

A Walk in the Park could find no relevant career experience in the world of public parks for Mr. Blackmon, who reportedly specializes in African-American outreach. However he was mentioned in the NY Times earlier this year for his antics during the Bloomberg campaign which left one Harlem State Assemblymember "a bit startled," according to the paper.

Mr. Blackmon was dispatched to Albany to sway Keith L. T. Wright into supporting Bloomberg.

According to the account, Assemblyman Keith L. T. Wright, a Harlem lawmaker, long ago pledged to support a fellow African-American, William C. Thompson Jr., in the mayoral election. But that did not stop two aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg from traveling 150 miles from Manhattan to Albany to seek Mr. Wright’s endorsement for the mayor a few weeks ago.

Christmas at the Ridgewood Reservoir

Parks apologizes for High Line arrests

From A Walk in the Park:

On Saturday artists were allowed to sell their wares on the High Line without incident for the first time. The day before the Parks Department reversed its position which had resulted in three arrests. Their previous vending policy only permitted selling items which included designer muffins, exotic teas, coffee and gelato. Unlike the "expressive matter" vendors, commercial concessions bring in revenue to the city. The City is currently negotiating a sole source concession agreement with the Friends of the High Line (FOH) which would allow the group to keep revenue from items sold on the park property. Since its opening in the Spring, the City has allowed 29 different permitted commercial vendors on the High Line but no art vendors...

According to Mr. Lederman's account, Parks Commissioner Benepe started the meeting by apologizing for the arrests.

"Believe it or not, he said, ‘I guess we didn’t know what we were doing.’ And then he said, ‘We’d like to discuss this whole issue with you, and apologize to you for not returning your e-mails, your calls.’

“They told me, ‘We know you’re going to be going back there, and that’s not a problem, we’re not going to arrest you.’ Amazingly enough, they were very agreeable to the things I had to say, but the one thing they drew a line [saying], “That we’re not going to be able to do” — you won’t believe what it was," Mr. Lederman recalled.

“I said, ‘I would like you to write a letter that says artists have a First Amendment right to sell in the parks subject to the limitations in the Park rules.’ They said, ‘We cannot do that.’ Unbelievable. That’s already what the consent decree says and what the lawsuit says and what the laws of the City of New York say — that they wouldn’t do. It fits in with their whole agenda of trying to deny that this was a First Amendment case, which is nonsense.

Tree buffer planted in Jamaica Estates

From NY1:

Community officials broke ground Monday on a project aimed at cutting noise pollution and beautifying the Grand Central Parkway.

Trees and shrubs will be planted on the eastbound and westbound sides from Utopia Parkway to 188th Street in Jamaica Estates.

Besides being a cosmetic improvement, the foliage will act as a sound barrier for homeowners living along the highway.

"The green wall will reduce the heat island effect, it will produce oxygen, it will absorb carbon dioxide. It will trap particulate matter on the leaf surface. It will provide a home for insects, for birds. It will raise property values. It will look beautiful in terms of colors of leaves and things like that," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

Congressman Gary Ackerman secured $375,000 in federal funding for the trees earlier this spring.

The plantings count toward Mayor Michael Bloomberg's initiative to plant one million new trees throughout the five boroughs by 2017.