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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by George Sands, Representative of Friends of Mount Prospect Park on Parks and Environmental Concerns
3:42:24
ยท
5 min
George Sands, representing Friends of Mount Prospect Park, testifies about the importance of preserving green spaces in New York City parks to combat rising temperatures and provide respite from heat. He specifically argues against paving Mount Prospect Park and emphasizes the value of parks for both residents and tourists.
- Highlights the increasing concern about environmental issues and hotter temperatures in NYC
- Warns against paving over green spaces, using Mount Prospect Park as an example
- Suggests quantifying the positive economic impact of parks on tourism and city revenue
George Sands
3:42:24
Thank you for your persistence and perseverance.
3:42:33
I want to compliment all the council members and the chairman for having a rigorous review of parks and really asking really good questions.
3:42:46
My name is George Sands.
3:42:49
And I'm speaking for the Friends of Mount Prospect Park, which is a member of the Forest for All New York City Coalition.
3:42:59
And I'm gonna go through my testimony, which I did submit.
3:43:02
And then I have a comment for just sitting here and watching everything happen over the last few hours.
3:43:10
One of the themes clearly is concern about the environment, that New York City is getting hotter.
3:43:18
And, you know, as we consider the New York City parks, the future and the protection of green space and the tree canopies, it's very clear that the weather continues to get hotter and that it's an increasing problem for New York.
3:43:35
And we've already talked about it today several times about the fire in Prospect Park.
3:43:41
That was inconceivable a year ago.
3:43:45
Right?
3:43:45
And so, it's happening more and more.
3:43:48
So, as we all deal with the hotter temperatures, the parks are an important resource for New Yorkers.
3:43:54
The green space helps.
Karen Horvat
3:43:56
Eric Merrill Sands, FaceTime video.
George Sands
3:44:00
I can't believe this.
3:44:05
The green space helps cool the environment and allows New York respite from the heat.
3:44:11
Many within the New York City government have called about, have talked about keeping things green.
3:44:20
Paving over green space in parks for any reason is inconsistent with that vision and puts New Yorkers at greater risk for the heat to come.
3:44:31
The proposal to pave historic Mount Prospect Park in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn will remove an important resource for the neighborhood to survive the heat.
3:44:43
Paving is a bad precedent to start in this city.
3:44:46
The call for another skateboard facility in Brooklyn is better served by paving a previously paved space.
3:44:53
We should keep all the green space we have.
3:44:56
It will only get more important with time.
3:44:59
How will you all feel in ten to fifteen years as the planet and New York City continues to get hotter and hotter if you support paving Mount Prospect Park?
3:45:11
Will you regret it?
3:45:13
And then, separate from that testimony which was submitted, it's very clear we've been talking about the trees and the environment.
3:45:22
I think people are all concerned on some level exactly what we're talking about, the climate and how parks fits into that.
3:45:31
And then, we're talking about how to manage the finite resources.
3:45:37
I only heard one allusion to what parks brings to the city.
3:45:43
You think about the number of people that use our parks, tourists who come from outside New York.
3:45:51
When you walk into Central Park almost ever and there's tons of tourists everywhere, the High Line, Prospect Park, if there's some way to quantify the revenue or how that impacts the city on the plus side.
3:46:10
Because we're always talking about the cost, and everybody's thinking about the parks as a cost.
3:46:16
But the parks is a major source of bringing people in.
3:46:22
And if you use Prospect Park on the weekends, it's challenging to bike because people are out there like totally not aware of what's happening.
3:46:35
Same thing in Central Park, and they're redoing the roadway in Central Park to finally account for the tourists and the bikes and everything.
3:46:43
That's because the tourists come and they bring revenue.
3:46:48
So, if someone can figure out a way for us to quantify that and share that with the executive or whoever that will be in coming years, maybe we can create some of the positive more positive energy in the parks and make it not a cost, but an important service for those coming to visit us and for the New Yorkers who've lived here for however many years.
3:47:19
Thank you for your continued attention, and thank you allowing me to be the last person to testify.