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Q&A
Strategies for improving open spaces and community gardens in the district
1:40:37
·
120 sec
Council Member Ossé inquires about plans for improving open spaces, parks, and community gardens in the district, highlighting the importance of these areas to the community and seeking information on potential barriers to meeting local needs.
- Ossé emphasizes that open space improvements are a top priority expressed by Community Board 3 and other community groups.
- City officials explain that the main limitation is the scarcity of publicly owned sites available for new open spaces.
- The discussion outlines strategies for improvement, including:
- Investing in and modernizing existing open spaces
- Expanding schoolyards into playgrounds
- Creating pedestrian-friendly spaces and plazas by reclaiming parts of streets
- The exchange highlights the challenges of creating new open spaces in a densely developed urban area and the need for creative solutions to meet community needs.
Chi A. Ossé
1:40:37
Okay.
1:40:39
Alright, well I think I'm getting two different pieces of information in terms of who has the title.
1:40:43
If we could all come together and figure this out, you know, after thirty something years, I think that would be great.
1:40:52
I want to move on to open space and gardens.
1:40:55
As the chair mentioned, open space is a crucial part of our district, and renovations and upgrades are top priority expressed by Community Board three, as well as other community groups in my district.
1:41:06
I do understand that the admin is still looking into different investments to our parks, playgrounds, and community gardens.
1:41:12
But are there any barriers, if any, to meeting all of the tasks by the local community in terms of our open spaces?
Alex Sommer
1:41:20
There is just a dearth of publicly owned sites available.
1:41:25
You know, first and foremost we'd look to identify sites to build new parks or parks or open spaces in conjunction with affordable housing where This gets back to your other question before about kind of the jigsaw puzzle of different ownerships and priorities.
1:41:43
And so where we can accommodate new open spaces, for example with the Dean Street project, we're trying to accommodate that.
1:41:52
But yeah, the big limitation is ownership and the ability to acquire new sites.
1:41:58
And so our focus has really been on investing and improving and modernizing existing open spaces as well as thinking through expansion of schoolyards to playgrounds.
1:42:08
And then with DOT and parks on are there places we can take back pieces of streets, expanding plazas and creating more pedestrian friendly spaces that people can enjoy and hang out in.
1:42:20
Well
Chi A. Ossé
1:42:22
thank you so much.
1:42:22
I think those are all of the questions that I have today.
1:42:25
I have a lot.
1:42:26
I'm looking for a lot of follow-up from from you all.
1:42:28
Really appreciate all the work you do.
1:42:30
Dash is a great name for someone who works for DOT.
1:42:33
I'm sure you get that a lot.
1:42:34
Thanks.
1:42:35
And thank you chair.
1:42:36
I'll pass it back to you.