Andrew Wallach
7:05:35
Thank you, Council Members, Brandon, Krishnan, and Abreo, for the chance to testify today about the fiscal 2025 executive budget for NYC Parks.
7:05:46
My name is Andrew Wallach, and I've lived in New York City for more than 42 years and have witnessed many economic and political cycles in the city during that period.
7:05:57
Including the near bankruptcy period in 1970s.
7:06:01
And I can tell I'm one of the few in this room who can say that.
7:06:05
I'm currently the chairman of the board of the natural areas conservancy and have served on that board since 2017.
7:06:13
As many of you know, the NIC is the only park conservancy which focuses solely on the 20,000 acres of natural areas.
7:06:22
Forest, grasslands, and wetlands within NYC's Park System.
7:06:28
I'm here today to strongly request that the city do the following.
7:06:33
Number 1, restore funding for NYC Parks from its proposed level of $583,000,000 back to its fiscal 2024 budget level of $635,000,000 for the 2025 fiscal year.
7:06:49
Number 2, end the hiring freeze at NYC Parks and restore agency staffing to pre COVID levels.
7:06:57
Number 3, restored 2,400,000 in permanent baseline funding for the citywide trail formalization program announced last year by Mayor Adams.
7:07:09
Number 4, restored 2,500,000 dollars in permanent baseline funding for 51 forestry management staff whose jobs are set to expire at the end of June.
7:07:22
And number 5, raise the total amount of operating funding for the parks from the currently proposed level of 0.5% to at least 1% of its total budget as soon as practicable.
7:07:38
We New Yorkers are blessed with a park system that is the envy of most major cities.
7:07:43
Our ancestors displayed incredible foresight and generosity in carving out large areas for green space and all of the borrowers.
7:07:52
The way we steward these long term assets is a sign of how much we care about our future and the future of our children and grandchildren.
7:08:01
Thank you very much.
