New York City plans to put the “green” in “green space.”
On March 5, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura were set to announce $50 million towards 10 parks including Harlem’s St. Nicholas Park through the city’s “equity-driven” Community Parks Initiative (CPI). They predict more than 100,000 New Yorkers will benefit from this investment.
“For many New Yorkers, the park is their backyard – a place where they can play a game of pick-up basketball, hold a picnic on the grass or kick a ball with their kids,” said Mamdani. “These New Yorkers know the difference between a park in disarray and a park that city government has invested in. That is why, today, we are proud to announce $50 million worth of capital investments to ten parks across the city – investments that will allow more than 100,000 New Yorkers in all five boroughs to experience a healthier, cleaner and more accessible city.”
The city will specifically fund St. Nicholas Playground at W.133rd St., which marks one of two Manhattan greenspaces getting this money for a refresh (Lower East Side’s Vladeck Park is the other). The site sits between Hamilton Heights and Manhattanville next to the City College campus. Other locations selected for funding include Brownsville’s Van Dyke and Mott Haven’s Fountain of Youth playgrounds.
In addition research by the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy credited improved mental health and growing weekday park usage to CPI investments between 2016 and 2022.
“Urban parks are increasingly being recognized around the world as crucial for the wellbeing of citizens. It is exciting to see that CPI has been successful at improving the level of satisfaction and usage of neighborhood parks throughout the city,” said Terry Huang, Professor of Public Health at CUNY SPH. “Importantly, the park renovations created the necessary condition for New Yorkers to benefit from using these parks in terms of their health and wellbeing. We are fortunate in New York to have such strong leadership and efforts to continue improving the park spaces in local communities through the expansion of CPI.”
CPI dates back to 2014 and bankrolls the reconstruction of local parks in “historically-neglected” neighborhoods. The renovation keys in the community during the design process. The city boasts 70 completed CPI projects and another 47 remain in progress (in addition to the new 10), with the Mamdani administration pointing to the Bronx’s Jennie Jerome Playground facelift last year. The park, which overlooks the Cross Bronx Expressway, received new equipment and planted sizable greenery to lower heat and block out noise from the nearby traffic.