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Q&A
Council Member Louis questions Parks Commissioner on second shift program and capital improvements
3:48:11
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3 min
Council Member Farah N. Louis inquires about the second shift program for park cleaning services and strategies to address delays in capital projects for playgrounds. Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue responds, explaining the selection criteria for second shift sites and efforts to expedite capital project processes.
- The second shift program expanded to 100 additional hotspots, with sites selected based on PIP ratings and staff feedback.
- The Parks Department is focused on capital process reform to reduce timeframes for project approvals and completions.
- The Vital Parks for All initiative helps identify high-need areas for investment using comprehensive asset mapping.
Farah N. Louis
3:48:11
Thank you chair and commissioner Donahue.
3:48:13
It's been a pleasure working with you and your team.
3:48:16
Wishing you all the best in your next endeavors.
3:48:18
I'm sure you'll be around.
3:48:21
Two quick questions.
3:48:22
Regarding the second shift program and the additional 100 hotspots receiving second shift cleaning services, I wanted to know how were these sites selected and what public facing criteria are used and will second shift resources help cover maintenance shortfalls in high need areas such as East Flatbush and Flatland and I have a quick question on capital improvements.
3:48:45
Many capital projects in playgrounds like Tilden Playground and Scartz Field in Marine Park are left unaddressed for years due to needing a large scale capital project instead of incremental improvements.
3:48:59
So I wanted to know what mitigation or expedited procurement strategies are being considered to prevent prolonged delays for routine but essential park upgrades in FY twenty six.
3:51:23
It'll be good to know if East Flatbush and Flatlands, being they fall in high need areas, if they fall within the criteria of the PIP, We can have that conversation now.
3:52:02
Thank you so much.
3:52:03
Thank you, chairs.
3:52:04
Thank you.
Sue Donoghue
3:49:11
Okay.
3:49:11
Thank you councilmember for your question.
3:49:13
For the first part, in terms of our second shift sites, those were chosen the additional now 100 additional sites were chosen based on two factors.
3:49:23
One is we have an extensive rating system, our PIP ratings, that is something that our team and our maintenance and operation folks review every single month.
3:49:36
And we look at those ratings very closely to see how different parks are performing, where we have issues, where parks are falling behind.
3:49:44
So in picking those 100 additional sites, we're looking and using those PIP ratings as well as anecdotal evidence from our staff on the ground to say, you know, this is a very busy barbecue area.
3:49:55
We're seeing it every weekend.
3:49:56
We can't keep up.
3:49:57
So it's that combination of anecdotal plus our PIP data that drove those decisions of the additional 100 sites.
3:50:06
And then in terms of the capital work, you're absolutely right.
3:50:11
We know that we have sites that it's not a quick fix.
3:50:17
It's a capital project.
3:50:19
As I said in my testimony, we now have a $10,500,000,000 capital budget.
3:50:23
It's extraordinary for the Parks Department and yet still not enough in some ways.
3:50:28
So we are looking very closely, as I said earlier, at ways that we can expedite that capital process, working with City Hall, working with our sister agencies, working on things like expediting processes with DOB, working with DEP.
3:50:45
There's permitting.
3:50:46
To move a capital project forward, it involves a myriad of different city agencies.
3:50:51
So, this administration has been focused on this capital reform task force, and we believe that every week, every month that we can reduce that time frame is important.
3:51:04
So working on how we can systematize or shorten the length of approval processes or those kind of things.
3:51:14
So we're very much laser focused on capital process reform, it still is, we know, can take a long time.
3:51:31
They absolutely do.
3:51:33
Every single park in our system falls within our PIP rating system.
3:51:37
The other thing that we have done is through our Vital Parks for All initiative.
3:51:42
We have mapped every single asset in our park system.
3:51:46
So every tree, basketball court, playground, and that helps us to target and identify those areas of high need that haven't had investment or that need investment.
3:51:55
So looking at across the system using data like that, we're able to pinpoint areas where we want to focus our capital.