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Discussion on school playgrounds and access programs
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Council Member Brewer and Matt Drury from the Parks Department discuss the current state of school playground access programs and potential changes to proposed legislation. They cover the number of playgrounds in various programs and technical concerns about the bill's language.
- There are about 550 school playgrounds currently in access programs (260 jointly operated, 290 in schoolyards to playgrounds)
- These programs have opened up park access to nearly a million New Yorkers
- Technical changes to the bill are needed to address jurisdictional issues between Parks Department and DOE
Gale A. Brewer
0:51:19
So I couple of questions about the, school playgrounds.
0:51:22
First of all, just what would be some of the technical changes that you might wanna see on the bill?
0:51:28
And then secondly, I wasn't paying enough attention, but how many total, if you know them, playgrounds, school playgrounds are there?
0:51:36
How many are already, thankfully, in programs that we just discussed, either the ones that are jointly operated or trust for the public land?
0:51:45
And then just that would give us a sense of we obviously can't make them all, nor should they all be used during the summer, but would give us some ballpark figures.
Matt Drury
0:51:56
Sure.
0:51:57
Thanks for the question.
0:51:58
So firstly, as to the legislation, I think the primary concern is that the way it's currently drafted, it tasks the Parks Department with crafting a plan to enable access to property that's not our jurisdiction.
0:52:12
So there's sort of a fundamental sort of technical concern there, if that makes any sense, right?
0:52:16
Like obviously we work really closely with NYC schools and have over the years.
0:52:21
There have been a variety of different ways that school property has been opened up to the public more broadly.
0:52:29
So that's generally happened in two models.
0:52:30
One was starting in the early 1940s headed into the '90s and 2000s.
0:52:36
That was the jointly operated playground.
0:52:38
So there's roughly about two sixty of those, give or take.
0:52:42
And those were by and large, most often, as I understand it, they were generally conceived and created as the school was being constructed, right?
0:52:52
So those are sort of like.
0:52:53
And then in the 2000s, through Play at NYC and other aspects, there was sort of a transition into a new approach, which is sort of what we would now call the schoolyards to playgrounds.
0:53:04
And there's about 290 or so of those is roughly what I understand that with more on the way.
0:53:11
And so when you add it all up together, it's roughly five fifty properties, which as I understand it I think our planning team took a look at it.
0:53:20
It opened up access to close to a million New Yorkers that wouldn't live within a walk to a park or open space have that, thanks to that universe of five fifty sites.
Gale A. Brewer
0:53:32
And we don't know how many total school playgrounds there are, however.
0:53:36
Only DOE would know that.
Matt Drury
0:53:37
Oh yeah.
0:53:38
I mean, yeah, we could I know there's roughly 1,400 school public school buildings in the city, but they don't all have schoolyards.
Gale A. Brewer
0:53:47
Yeah.
0:53:47
In Manhattan in particular, they do
Matt Drury
0:53:49
not So I so yeah.
0:53:50
In North
Gale A. Brewer
0:53:50
Sea schools then the question would be, in terms of technical, you're saying that the parks department would be tasked with drawing up a plan.
0:53:59
You'd obviously have to work with DOE, but you already work with DOE.
0:54:02
I mean, it's not like it's complicated.
0:54:04
The ones that are jointly operated in my district, you cannot get onto a, you know, a swing on the weekends.
0:54:12
It's so packed.
0:54:13
So it's already a success.
Matt Drury
0:54:15
For sure.
0:54:16
I think that's just, know, not to get hung up on it, the bill as it's crafted, you know, sort of compels and requires, you know, the agency to kind
Gale A. Brewer
0:54:24
So the should say DOE and parks work together on a plan.
Matt Drury
0:54:28
I'm sure there's a variety of different ways it could be structured.
0:54:30
Sure.
0:54:30
Okay.