The State of New York City's Parks

The Center for an Urban Future released a report on New York City's public parks this week, capturing the attention of multiple media outlets in the process of telling the story of an aging and neglected parks portfolio.

The report, titled "A New Leaf: Revitalizing New York City's Aging Parks Infrastructure," was funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. According to the website for the report, A New Leaf "offers a new level of detail about the infrastructure needs of New York City’s parks—including invisible infrastructure, pathways, built facilities, and landscape—and encompasses both well-known facilities like playgrounds and bathrooms, and lesser-recognized yet integral components, such as drainage systems and retaining walls."

The report also produces more than a 20 recommendations, focusing on issues of financing, maintenance, planning, and construction.

For insight into the media reaction to the report, read the following news stories written since the report's release.

• Inside NYC’s $6 billion parks problem (The New York Post)
• New York City Parks Are In Desperate Need Of Repairs, Study Finds (CBS New York)
• New York City parks hobbled by age, underinvestment according to new report (The Architect's Newspaper)

Eli Dvorkin, managing editor of the Center for an Urban Future, also penned an op-ed for the Gotham Gazette to make the case for a concerted revitalization effort for the city's parks.