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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Steph Crane, Senior Education Budget and Policy Analyst at NYC Independent Budget Office (IBO)
1:15:37
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5 min
Steph Crane from the NYC Independent Budget Office presented an analysis of the costs and implications of expanding the Schoolyards to Playgrounds program, as proposed in Intro 566. The testimony focused on the financial aspects of keeping schoolyards open to the public during non-school hours and the potential impact on access to recreational spaces.
- IBO estimated it would cost approximately $72,000 per year to keep one playground open on weekends and after school hours on weekdays.
- For all 676 eligible school buildings, the total annual cost would be about $49 million, based solely on labor costs.
- Analysis showed that students at schools without public access to yards would need to travel an average of 0.26 miles to the nearest park, with some areas requiring up to 2 miles of travel.
Steph Crane
1:15:37
Good afternoon, chair Krishnan and members of the committee on parks and recreation and other council members.
1:15:43
I'm Steph Crane, senior education budget and policy analyst at the New York City Independent Budget Office.
1:15:50
I appreciate the opportunity to testify today regarding intro five sixty six which prioritizes the expansion of the school yards to playgrounds program.
Shekar Krishnan
1:16:00
Sorry.
1:16:00
Do you mind bringing the mic a little bit closer to you?
1:16:02
Sure.
1:16:03
Thank you.
Steph Crane
1:16:07
Which prioritizes the expansion of the Schoolyards to Playgrounds program for at least 25 additional schoolyards located in environmental justice areas.
1:16:17
My testimony focuses on all available schoolyards and builds upon IBO's recent analysis requested by council member Brewer.
1:16:26
In that letter published in January 2025, IBO summarized the cost of keeping all outdoor schoolyards open to the public after school on week days and for full eight hour days on weekends based purely on the price of labor.
1:16:43
IBO estimated this cost for school yards that were not already participating in the school yards to playgrounds program.
1:16:50
IBO previously estimated this cost in 2022 and found an increase by eight buildings participating in the playgrounds program since then from February up to February based on publicly available data.
1:17:06
The Schoolyards to Playgrounds program which began in 02/2007 is co managed by Department of Education, Department of Parks and Recreation and the Trust for Public Land and allows public access to playgrounds on weekends.
1:17:20
The mayor's preliminary budget released in January 2025 added $770,000 to fiscal years 2026 and beyond.
1:17:30
The administration indicated these funds will support an expansion of the Schoolyards to playgrounds program by 11 additional school yards, a 4% increase from the 268 buildings that currently participate.
1:17:46
Regarding IBO's estimate of additional costs, IBO assumes the cost to keep playgrounds open on a weekend would be to pay a custodian for eight hours and on a weekday after school for three hours at $44.5 which is the 29.97 an hour plus time and a half based on the prevailing wage schedule settled 07/01/2024.
1:18:11
IBO's estimate did not account for other costs such as playground improvements which would be made prior to the playground opening to the public.
1:18:20
Based on publicly available data as of December 2024, IBO used this hourly rate to estimate the labor costs for one additional playground as follows.
1:18:31
One weekend day would be $360 or $37,000 per year for both weekend days including summer months.
1:18:40
One weekday after school would be $135 per weekday or $35,000 per year for all five weekdays including summer months.
1:18:50
In total, those weekend and extended weekday costs amount to a combined amount of 72,000 per year for one playground.
1:18:59
Regarding the counts of school buildings with outdoor yards available, of the nine forty six buildings that have outdoor yards according to the most recent report on physical education pursuant to local law 01/2002 of 2015 and released for the twenty twenty three-twenty four school year.
1:19:20
676 buildings have outdoor yards available but are not part of the school yards to playgrounds program currently and therefore are not open to the public during after school hours.
1:19:32
If all 676 buildings were kept open on weekends and extended weekday hours, the total annual cost would be approximately $49,000,000, again based only on labor costs.
1:19:45
Lastly, IBO also examined the average distance that students would need to travel to the nearest city park for schools with a yard and for schools without a yard.
1:19:56
IBO found that for the 676 school buildings with a yard that are not currently open during non school hours, students would need to travel just point two six miles or 5.2 blocks on average to the nearest park.
1:20:11
However, the maximum distance traveled would be two miles or 40 blocks in Staten Island and over a mile in Queens and in The Bronx.
1:20:20
For the 431 school buildings without an outdoor yard available, students would need to travel just point two nine miles or 5.8 blocks on average to the nearest park.
1:20:32
The maximum distance, however, would be 1.6 miles in Queens and 1.4 miles in The Bronx.
1:20:39
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
1:20:41
IBO welcomes your questions.