Park advocates are calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to keep his promise to increase funding and potentially remake a park system that has fallen into decline after years of budget cuts.
“It is time for New York City to lead the nation and the world in its vision for parks and open spaces,” wrote Adam Ganser, executive director for New Yorkers for Parks, a nonprofit advocacy group, in a letter to the mayor on Wednesday.
The demand amounts to an early political test for Mamdani as he prepares to release his first budget next month. Advocates have spent more than two decades trying to get mayors to spend more money on the city’s 1,700 parks. They were heartened when Mamdani said on the campaign trail he shared their goal of dedicating 1% of the budget toward parks, a near doubling of funding totaling over $1 billion.
The letter, which was cosigned by more than 400 organizations, outlined a list of “critical staffing investments” that would help clean hundreds of parks and public bathrooms, perform tree and lawn maintenance, and expand operating hours at recreation centers. Overflowing garbage and unsanitary bathroom conditions have become sore points for the public.
In an appeal to the mayor’s core policy issue, Ganser describes parks and playgrounds as “the original universal free child care.”
But meeting that spending goal has historically been elusive for those in City Hall.
“Are parks a priority? Yes, until you deal with public safety and housing,” said Joseph Viteritti, a professor of public policy at Hunter College. “The reason why parks always get shortchanged is it doesn’t appeal to people’s immediate fears or concerns the way crime and housing do.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced his pick for parks commissioner, Tricia Shimamura on Jan. 17.
Still, Viteritti said Mamdani was "rewriting the script” on what matters to New Yorkers. In his first weeks in office, the mayor has appeared on picket lines for nurses and Starbucks workers and begun a crackdown on hidden “junk fees” he says contribute to the affordability crisis.
But his budget proposal will be the clearest indication of his priorities — and willingness to make uncomfortable tradeoffs.
“Budgets are supposed to be about choices,” said George Sweeting, a fiscal policy expert at the New School's Center for New York City Affairs. “It would be feasible if he wants to put political capital into it. But he has a lot of things he wants to put political capital into.”
Mamdani’s ambitious agenda includes universal child care, free buses and city-subsidized grocery stores. Paying for all those policies will be difficult given a $12.6 billion deficit over the next two years. Mamdani has pushed for raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers and corporations, but Gov. Kathy Hochul has resisted his demand.
A spokesperson for Mamdani did not respond to a request for comment.
Advocates say investing in parks is a no-brainer for the mayor, who has touted his love for parks.
On Saturday, he walked in the snow in the Bronx’s Highbridge Park to announce Tricia Shimamura as his new parks commissioner.
“In a city where almost everything costs something, our parks are not only a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle,” Mamdani said. “They are also the rare corner of our city that are truly accessible and affordable to each and every person who calls the city home.”
A recent New York Times survey asking readers to vote on the best ways for the mayor to improve the city showed spending more on parks and libraries at the top of the list.
There are clear political implications. Former Mayor Eric Adams faced outcry over cuts to parks and libraries. A 2023 poll showed 66% of New Yorkers disapproved of the way he handled the budget.
Although Adams increased total spending on parks in his final year, advocates said roughly 700 positions were lost to the cuts.
“It’s an inexpensive slam-dunk issue,” Ganser told Gothamist. “After four years of budget cuts, Mayor Mamdani’s commitment to 1% is important, and that investment will have significant impact on the daily lives of every New Yorker.”
