A coalition of greenspace-loving groups is demanding that Zohran Mamdani make good on his promise to raise the Parks Department's budget. Plus other news.
Streetsblog provides high-quality journalism and analysis for free — which is something to be celebrated in an era of paywalls. Once a year, we ask for your tax-deductible donations to support our reporters and editors as they advance the movement to end car dependency in our communities.
If you already support our work, thank you! If not, can we ask for your help?This year’s fundraiser includes a special gift for our biggest supporters. Don’t miss out.
Together, we can create a more livable, walkable, bikeable, equitable and enjoyable city for all. Happy holidays from the Streetsblog team!
It’s time to put some green in the green.
Our friends at New Yorkers for Parks and the Play Fair for Parks Coalition are demanding that incoming Mayor Mamdani do more than just make good on his promise to double the Parks Department budget (because zero times two is still zero!) by ending the agency’s hiring freeze, launching a bathroom blitz, reduce the 35,000 open work orders in the forestry division, create a Parks Master Plan and fully fund the Queensway.
It’s a long list of “first 100-day priorities,” but these are some pretty low-hanging branches to clear away, if you ask the two groups.
“New Yorkers have been told for years that parks matter — but the Adams administration’s cuts showed the opposite,” Adam Ganser, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks, told us in a statement. “Mayor-elect Mamdani now has the chance to reset the city’s priorities and prove on Day 1 that parks are essential infrastructure, especially for working families.”
Most important: finally achieving a budget for the Parks Department that is at least 1 percent of the city budget (it’s about 0.6 percent now, despite Adams’s promise to get to the supposedly magical 1 percent). The money isn’t for gilding lilies, of course, but to rebuild a department that, the groups say, lost more than 600 positions under Mayor Adams, who hired 5,000 more police officers — and their overtime budget alone exceeds what the groups sought to fund the entire parks system.
First, we forgot to honor our beloved donors in yesterday’s headlines, so we have two days of benefactors to thank: Thanks, Charlie! Thanks, Charles! Thanks, Mel! Thanks, Alec! Thanks, Jen! Thanks, Daniel! Thanks, Carol! And it must be said: two of them made such an exceptionally generous contribution that they qualified for this year’s special gift. Join them by clicking here.
Why is the Adams administration failing to collect fines from scofflaw school bus companies, Brad Lander wants to know. (NYDN)
Two workers were hurt at the MTA worksite on the Broadway Bridge. (NYDN)
Following up on our own Sophia Lebowitz’s insightful reporting about how Amazon contracts labor through outside companies, Jacobin is calling for reform.
More congestion pricing-funded improvements are coming to the subway. (amNY)
In a related story, the MTA Board passed the agency’s $21-billion budget. (NY Post)
And MTA CEO Janno Lieber says Facebook leaves subway surfing videos up way too long. (The City)
Pete Davidson and Colin Jost’s ferry bad idea continues. (NY Post)
And, finally, watch this guy race an NYC Ferry boat from Soundview to the Rockaways. He’s amazing:
Tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman has been with New York newspapers since 1989, including stints at the New York Daily News, the Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. He's also the writer and producer of "Murder at the Food Coop," which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical” in 2007. He also writes the Cycle of Rage column, which is archived here.
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
The mayor called James Giovansanti's 547 speed and red light camera tickets "unacceptable" — but said an official response remains subject to "a conversation internally."
