Adrian Benepe's New Employer Says NYC Parks Are Great!

March 12, 2013. An abandoned vehicle in the long- suffering Pugsley Creek Park in the Bronx.  New York City’s park system ranked second, behind Minneapolis’s, in a "survey" of the nation’s 50 largest cities conducted by former parks commissioner Adrian Benepe's new employer The Trust for Public Land.  Apparently park conditions were not a factor in determining the results. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) Click on images to enlarge.

Nation-Wide

New York City’s park system ranked second, behind Minneapolis’s, in a survey of the nation’s 50 largest cities by the Trust for Public Land according to another effusive New York Times parks article. 

The trust, a nonprofit conservation group, looked at a number of factors, including park access, size, services and public investment to determine scores that ranged from a single park bench to five (a perfect score). New York, which last year came in third, scored 4.5 benches.

The success of New York City in the survey, to be released on Wednesday, was an affirmation of the tenure of Adrian Benepe, who served as New York City parks commissioner for more than a decade before decamping last fall to the Trust for Public Land, where he is senior vice president and director of city park development.

May 31, 2013. An abandoned park safety light in the long-suffering High Bridge Park in upper Manhattan.

“You can’t have a great city without great parks,” said Mr. Benepe, who, under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, oversaw 1,700 parks and beaches during a period of expansion and major capital investment. Mr. Benepe noted that in this year’s survey, the ParkScore Index, New York pulled ahead of Boston, which it had tied last year. “It’s strong across the board, but particularly with park access,” he said of New York. (The survey was data-driven, so Mr. Benepe did not recuse himself from the judging.)

Park access measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk, or a half mile, of a park. In New York City, according to the survey, 96 percent of residents fall within those parameters. New York also scored high on park spending per resident. From 2008 to 2010, New York’s park expenditures — a combination of capital and operations — averaged $160 per resident.

One area of weakness for New York was median park size. Median park size is a little over an acre in New York, while the national median is five acres. “While New York has some really huge parks, a half-acre park cancels out a 1,000-acre park when you do medians,” Mr. Benepe said. “Sometimes, history is destiny with how cities develop.”

But the city scored high on the percentage of total area dedicated to parks; almost 20 percent of New York City is public parkland, second only to San Diego.

Other high-scoring cities included Boston, which tied with Sacramento and San Francisco for third place. The worst performing cities, which all received only a single park bench on the scale, were Indianapolis; Charlotte, N.C.; Louisville, Ky.; and Fresno, Calif.

The Trust for Public Land provides data, analysis and interactive maps for each city on its Web site. The site identifies neighborhoods that are most in need of parks and provides local obesity rates.

May 13, 2013. Dangerous, Decrepit Conditions - Little Bay Park, Queens.  Rocks have replaced grass in these heavily used soccer fields. How many more children have to get hurt until the Parks Department responds to the community's demands for action park users have been asking.  Little Bay Park earned an A-plus in New Yorkers for Parks latest "Report Card" including a grade of 93 for its bathrooms even though the park does not have any - unless they count  torched port-a-potties that have been melted to the ground.  (Photo: Malba Gardens Civic Association)

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: June 7, 2013

An article in some editions on Wednesday about a national survey of park systems in which New York City ranked second, behind Minneapolis, misstated the amount of money per resident that the city spent on parks from 2008 to 2010. It was $160, not $8. (The $160 was $8 more than what was spent from 2007 to 2009.)

Read More:

New York Parks Rank No. 2 in a Survey of 50 U.S. Cities

New York Times - June 5, 2013 - By Lisa W. Foderaro 

Restoration Of John T. Brush Stairway In High Bridge Park Finally Begun

A severally deteriorated staircase in High Bridge Park that once lead to the Polo Grounds is finally being restored. A plaque at the bottom of the staircase honoring the New York Giants’ baseball team owner, John T. Brush, was dedicated in July 1913, the year after his death. (Photos: Geoffrey Croft/New York City Park Advocates)

Manhattan

They’ve been gone from New York for 54 years, but they haven’t forgotten us.

A $50,000 donation from the San Francisco Giants is helping the city Parks Department rebuild the last remaining bit of the Polo Grounds, the storied ballpark, according to the New York Post.

Work is now under way on the $950,000 rebuilding of a stairway that runs from Edgecombe Avenue near 158th Street down to parkland on the western edge of Harlem River Drive, near the old ballpark site.

The stairway has a plaque in the middle honoring John T. Brush, who became lead owner of the New York Giants in 1902 and bought the baseball team outright in 1903.

The dangerous staircase and surrounding landscape are being finally restored. Steps that lead to nowhere today once offered a clear, yet distant, view of games at the Polo Grounds. The biggest chunk of money for the project is a $400,000 allocation of taxpayer funds from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s capital budget.

“We just thought that given its historical significance and its part in Giants history, it would be highly appropriate for us to participate,” said Staci Slaughter, a team spokeswoman.

Brush was notorious for boycotting the 1904 World Series, citing the “inferiority” of the newly formed American League. But he changed his mind the following winter and shepherded the Giants to a World Series victory in 1905. Brush owned the team up to his death in 1912.

The stairs were built in 1913 and led from a ticket booth on Edgecombe down to the stadium. The upper part of the stairs offered such a good view of the Polo Grounds that fans often crowded it on game days.

The stairway is to be finished next September, 100 years after Brush’s death. The project also includes new park benches at the bottom of the stairway, near the highway.

The biggest chunk of money for the project is a $400,000 allotment of taxpayer cash from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s capital budget.

The football Giants, who also played at the Polo Grounds, are kicking in $200,000, the Yankees and the Mets are each contributing $100,000, and the Jets and Major League Baseball are each donating $50,000.

After the baseball Giants left New York at the end of 1957, the stadium was home to the Mets before the team moved to Queens.

The Polo Grounds was torn down in 1964 and is now the site of a housing project.

Polo Grounds. (Photo: AP)

Read More:

Giants’ $tep Ex-NY team helps city restore Polo remnant

New York Post - November 7, 2011 - By Colin Mixson and Bill Sanderson

A Stairway to Sports History From the Polo Grounds

New York Times - February 19, 2008 - By Timothy Williams

Body Parts Found In High Bridge Park

MANHATTAN

Human Head, Torso Discovered In NYC Park

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, N.Y. (WPIX) - A decomposing human head and torso were discovered in a grassy area of Highbridge Park in Washington Heights Tuesday, police said.

According to authorities, a Parks Department employee found the remains along side a guard rail adjacent to the park, off the southbound Harlem River Drive at W. 167th Street at around 9:40 a.m.

Investigators couldn't immediately say whether the body parts belonged to the same person.

The Medical Examiner is expected to conduct an autopsy to determine the identity and cause of death. The investigation is ongoing.

The remains were reportedly badly decomposed, and believed to be in the park for an extended period of time.

Read More: 

Human Head, Torso Discovered In NYC Park

WPIX.com -  December 15 2009 - By Andrew Ramos

Body parts found in Washington Heights park

WABC News - December 15, 2009