Newly passed legislation may lower the threshold for acceptable lead levels in water fountains in New York public schools. Hundreds of fountains in city parks have tested above that new number.
In addition to paying for more than 200 park rangers and patrol officers—positions cut from the previous year’s budget—the allocated money will support community gardens, forestry management and equity initiatives.
‘If you wait for the city to do it for you, you’re going to be waiting forever,’ Mike Young, founder of the Padre Plaza Community Success Garden. ‘Why are we waiting for someone else to be resourceful for us?’
‘Now is the time to realize a new era for parks, a vision for recovery with green open spaces at the center of our new urban landscape. The first step towards doing that is restoring the devastating budget cuts that have brought us to this inflection point.’
New York City is no stranger to lawsuits. But what happens when a claim involves a public space managed by a nonprofit?
The early attention suggests a new urgency around climate resiliency eight years after Superstorm Sandy’s toll.
‘The decision runs directly contrary to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s ambitious climate objectives, his “Zero Waste to landfills” goals and his long-standing commitment to environmental justice.’
All the recent news coverage and social media posts about New York City parks ridden with trash focus on the symptoms—not the system—which has historically underfunded our parks.
After years waiting for a bridge to connect splintered sections of the Bronx park, the city is still short on funds to make it happen.