Parks and Green Space
New York City Council District 5 ranks 47th out of 51 in the entire city regarding green space. It is imperative that we expand green space in our District and work to optimize the usage of the space we do have. To do this, we need to fund capital upgrades to our parks and support organizations that provide programming and maintenance. We also must be creative in looking at ways to enhance and expand the current green space in the District. Julie has been working hard to support our parks since taking office:
- Implementing the renovation and expansion of the community garden at NYCHA’s Lexington Houses
- Provided millions of dollars for capital upgrades at Carl Schurz Park, Ruppert Park, 24 Sycamores Playground, and John Jay Park
- Partnering with Friends of the East River Esplanade to sod and irrigate the Alice Aycock Pavilion lawn
- Advocating for universal free swim lessons for all New York City children
- Introduced legislation to streamline processes to create community gardens
- Funding popular Parks programming including family days, movie nights, yoga classes, and Esplanade concerts
- Collaborating with the Hospital for Special Surgery to ensure the construction of outdoor exercise equipment on the East River Esplanade
- Secured funding to plant trees across the East Side of Manhattan
Julie will continue to provide robust funding to support our parks and find new ways to expand green space in the 5th Council District.