MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES 11 SITES ADDED TO COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE

MAYOR DE BLASIO ANNOUNCES 11 SITES ADDED TO COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE

NYC Parks Community Parks Initiative will now fully reconstruct 67 total sites reaching 500K New Yorkers who live within a short walk of one of these parks

Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, announced the next set of parks added to the Community Parks Initiative portfolio the City’s first major parks equity initiative investing $318 million to revitalize everyday community parks that have received less than $250,000 over the past 20 years. With 67 park sites to receive full reconstruction with the additional 11, CPI is one of the largest data-driven park equity programs in the nation, with 500,000 New Yorkers within a short walk of one of the parks.

When we talk about improving parks in New York City, we’re really talking about improving the lives of New Yorkers,said Mayor Bill de Blasio. The Community Parks Initiative focuses on parks and neighborhoods that have faced the most historic disinvestment and serve dense, growing populations so every New Yorker can be proud of their neighborhood park.

“Since 2014, the Community Parks Initiative has brought New Yorkers together to improve their parks and playgrounds – and in doing so, to strengthen their communities. With the addition of eleven more parks to the program, thousands more will now have the opportunity to reimagine and rebuild their most precious resource: their shared public space,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP.

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, CPI is a multi-faceted investment in the neighborhood/local parks that are located in New York City’s densely populated and growing neighborhoods where there are higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. CPI is NYC Parks’ first major equity initiative and part of the Mayor’s OneNYC: The Plan for a Strong and Just City.

Entering the design process this fall, the 11 parks bringing the CPI portfolio total to 67 are:

Bronx locations include:

Prospect Playground (Fairmount Pl between Clinton Avenue and Prospect Avenue)

Mapes Ballfield (Mapes Avenue, Prospect Avenue between E. 180 Street and E. 181 Street)