TESTIMONY
Andrew Wallach, Chairman of the Board of the Natural Areas Conservancy, on Restoring and Increasing Funding for NYC Parks to Support Natural Areas
7:05:32
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151 sec
Wallach advocates for restoring NYC Parks' funding to its fiscal 2024 level, ending the hiring freeze, restoring funding for the citywide trail formalization program and forestry staff positions, and increasing parks operating funding to at least 1% of the city's budget.
- He highlights the importance of the city's 20,000 acres of natural areas like forests, grasslands, and wetlands within the parks system.
- Wallach brings over 42 years of experience living in NYC through economic and political cycles.
- He emphasizes responsible stewardship of the parks system for future generations.
Andrew Wallach
7:05:32
Okay.
7:05:33
Good afternoon.
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.
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I'm currently the chairman of the board of the natural areas conservancy and have served on that board since 2017.
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As many of you know, the NIC is the only park conservancy which focuses solely on the 20,000 acres of natural areas.
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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.
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Number 2, end the hiring freeze at NYC Parks and restore agency staffing to pre COVID levels.
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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.
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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.
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Our ancestors displayed incredible foresight and generosity in carving out large areas for green space and all of the borrowers.
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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.
