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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Martha Neighbors, Executive Vice President of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden
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Martha Neighbors, Executive Vice President of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, testifies in support of a new initiative to enhance accessibility for disabled New Yorkers at public botanical gardens. She emphasizes the health benefits of engaging with nature and requests a $1,000,000 annual investment for the "Rooted in Accessibility" program.
- Snug Harbor is Staten Island's free botanical garden, welcoming over 500,000 visitors annually
- NIH studies show consistent improvements in mental, physical, and cognitive health outcomes when individuals engage with outdoor environments
- Snug Harbor partners with various organizations to provide events and workforce development opportunities for people with disabilities
Martha Neighbors
5:32:39
Good afternoon, Chair Schulman, Chair Lee, and members of the committees.
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I am Martha Nabors, executive vice president of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Staten Island.
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And I'm here today to support a proposed new speaker initiative rooted in accessibility, which will enhance the ability of the city's public botanical gardens to provide access to disabled New Yorkers and support positive public health outcomes.
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Founded in 1977, Snug Harbor is an expansive culture park on Staten Island where arts, nature, education, and history unite to bring dynamic programming, events, and festivals to our diverse community.
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We seek to create a more culturally connected, thriving community in an underserved area of New York City.
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We are the city's only free botanical garden, open three sixty five days a year from dawn to dusk, and we welcome over 500,000 visitors annually.
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According
Anthony Feliciano
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to
Martha Neighbors
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the National Institutes of Health, the burden of non communicable diseases, including poor mental health, is increasing.
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Some practitioners are turning to nature to provide the solution.
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NIH reviewed 39 related studies.
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Ninety two percent demonstrated consistent improvements across health outcomes when individuals engaged with outdoor environments.
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Mental health outcomes improved across ninety eight percent of studies, while physical and cognitive health outcomes showed improvement across eighty three percent and seventy five percent, respectively.
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Our four public botanical gardens provide exactly these opportunities.
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Snug Harbor partners with DOE District seventy five, City Access New York, the Grace Foundation, Lifestyles for the Disabled, and On Your Mark to host events and provide workforce development opportunities for people with physical, cognitive, and or sensory challenges serving thousands annually.
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To summarize, we are asking you to support our public garden's unique role in providing safe, accessible outdoor spaces with a modest $1,000,000 annual investment in rooted in disability.
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Sorry, rooted in accessibility.
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Disabled New Yorkers deserve the benefits of engaging with nature and the positive effect of such engagement on their mental and physical help, and our public gardens need your help.
5:35:22
Thank you.
Lynn Schulman
5:35:23
Thank you.