Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
TESTIMONY
Alia Soomro, Deputy Director for New York City Policy at the New York League of Conservation Voters, on Restoring NYC Parks Budget Cuts and Equitable Access to Green Spaces
6:13:18
ยท
141 sec
Soomro testifies that the Mayor's proposed $55 million budget cut to NYC Parks and loss of over 600 job positions will undermine the agency's ability to maintain safe, clean, green and resilient parks across the city.
- She criticizes the cuts as contradictory to the Mayor's own campaign pledges and the city's climate goals.
- Soomro highlights the many benefits parks provide, including for public health, the economy and environment.
- She notes the inequitable distribution of parks and green spaces due to historic disinvestment and structural racism in environmental justice communities.
- Soomro calls on the Mayor to fully restore the parks budget and establish a path to allocating 1% of the city's budget to parks.
Alia Soomro
6:13:18
Good afternoon.
6:13:19
My name is Aliyah Sumro, and I'm the deputy director for New York City policy at the New York League of Conservation Voters.
6:13:24
Thank you, chair Brandon, chair Christian, and members of the committee on parks and recreation for the opportunity to testify.
6:13:30
My colleague, Jake Patel, will testify for sanitation committee.
6:13:35
NYLCV stands in solidarity with the entire play fair for Parks Coalition and the forest for all coalition.
6:13:41
As members of these 2 coalitions, NYLCV was deeply disappointed that the mayor's executive budget did not restore the funding cuts to NYC Parks.
6:13:50
Despite widespread support from residents, parks, workers, and elected officials throughout the city.
6:13:56
The mayor's proposed budget cut NYC parks by over $55,000,000, and the current hiring freeze will eliminate more than 600 essential agency job lines.
6:14:06
Making it impossible for the agency to ensure parks are safe, clean, green, and resilient across the city.
6:14:12
The mayor's budget cuts represent yet another major setback for an agency that has long suffered from disinvestment.
6:14:19
Most importantly, these budget cuts completely undermine the mayor's prioritization of cleanliness His own campaign pledged to increase funding for the parks department to 1% of the city budget, and it also contradicts the climate goals outlined in the administration's plan NYC getting sustainability done.
6:14:37
Empty words are not enough.
6:14:39
We must fund our park system and get on a path to 1% of the city budget.
6:14:44
I don't need to reiterate how many benefits parks has, including public health, economic, climate, and more.
6:14:50
Despite these benefits, due to historic disinvestment in structural racism, our trees, parks, green spaces, and access to our city's waterfront are not equitably distributed.
6:15:00
Access to parks and tree coverage is on average much lower in environmental justice neighborhoods that are already plagued by adverse health problems and high levels of pollution.
6:15:10
Continued disinvestment in parks will only compound these inequities and make it even worse.
6:15:16
We cannot emphasize this enough.
6:15:18
Parks and green spaces are essential infrastructure.
6:15:21
For too long, our parks workers have been asked to do more with less, allocating 1% of the city budget to parks is not only necessary, but very reasonable.
6:15:30
We call in the mayor of fully restored the parks budget and finally get us on a specific path to 1%.
6:15:37
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
← Previous Chapter
Tamar Renaud, New York State Director of Trust for Public Land, on the Importance of Parks and Equitable Access to Outdoor Spaces
Next Chapter →
Jake Patel, Special Assistant at the New York League of Conservation Voters, on Restoring Funding for Organic Waste Recycling and Education Programs to Achieve Zero Waste Goals