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Q&A
Inventory of water fountains and recreational facilities in parks
0:42:27
·
144 sec
Council Member Krishnan inquires about the current number and installation of water fountains, basketball courts, and tracks under Parks Department jurisdiction.
- Parks Department oversees about 3,700 exterior water fountains
- There are 1,765 outdoor basketball courts and 21 gyms in recreation centers
- Discussion on the process of installing new water fountains during park reconstructions
- Exploration of potential for opening up school facilities like tracks to community use
Shekar Krishnan
0:42:27
It's definitely worth considering because the speed at which we can do some of these renovations, you know, as part of opening up the playgrounds, I think gives you all more resources, more opportunity to both open up playgrounds, but also update them, renovate them too.
0:42:43
Now turning over to water fountains and basketball courts, what's the current number of water fountains the Parks Department has?
Matt Drury
0:42:50
So the agency oversees a system of about roughly 3,700 or so exterior water fountains in our parks and playgrounds.
Shekar Krishnan
0:42:59
And are you all routinely installing more water fountains?
0:43:03
Or what's the pace of expanding what number of water fountains throughout the city?
Matt Drury
0:43:07
Yeah, it's a great question.
0:43:08
So by and large, essentially, basically any capital improvement that's being made to a park, like a park reconstruction or a court reconstruction, will practically always include the installation of new water fountains or replacement of existing water fountains.
Shekar Krishnan
0:43:24
And what's the number of basketball courts, indoor and outdoor, under proxy jurisdiction?
Matt Drury
0:43:29
So outdoor we have I apologize, sorry.
0:43:34
There
Margaret Nelson
0:43:36
seventeen sixty five outdoor basketball courts in our system.
0:43:41
And in our 36 rec centers, 21 have gyms.
Shekar Krishnan
0:43:46
I see.
0:43:46
Okay.
0:43:46
And how about the number of tracks under Parks Department jurisdiction?
Matt Drury
0:43:53
We actually have that, sorry.
0:43:54
Yes.
0:43:55
I believe it's roughly 74 sort of track they may not all be separate individual facilities but sort of permittable spaces within what we call like a track and field sort of process.
0:44:08
So 74 ish, yeah.
Shekar Krishnan
0:44:12
Got it.
0:44:12
Okay.
0:44:13
Because that's another area too that I want to highlight is, as I mentioned before, we have a great high school track in our district that we would love to open up to the community too, especially in a neighborhood like ours that doesn't have such little park space.
0:44:24
And this is just another step in that direction of opening up all these facilities.
Matt Drury
0:44:28
Sorry, that's a reference to a DOE?
Shekar Krishnan
0:44:30
Yes, Newtown High School.
0:44:31
Yep, it's DOE again, but it highlights the same thing.
0:44:34
These are needs of that And
Matt Drury
0:44:36
don't want to obviously, not able to speak to the details.
0:44:39
But there are systems in place, as I understand it, to access many, many of those facilities that is routed through NYC schools.
0:44:45
But as I understand it, on a site by site basis, there are some of those some access is allowed to some of
Shekar Krishnan
0:44:51
those facilities.