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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Giulietta Fiore, Executive Director of Historic House Trust of New York City
5:31:43
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129 sec
Giulietta Fiore, Executive Director of the Historic House Trust of New York City, advocated for full restoration of New York City parks in the FY '26 budget, emphasizing the need for better maintenance and increased staffing. She highlighted the importance of community spaces and historic sites in parks across all five boroughs.
- Shared personal experience from Rufus King Park in Queens, where visitors expressed both appreciation for local historic sites and frustration with park maintenance issues.
- Called for allocating 1% of the city budget to the Parks Department to address widespread concerns about park conditions.
- Stressed the unfairness of the current situation to both park staff and community members who rely on parks as critical city infrastructure.
Giulietta Fiore
5:31:43
Good afternoon.
5:31:44
Thank you so much for this opportunity to testify.
5:31:46
My name is Julieta Tafiori.
5:31:47
I'm the executive director of the Historic House Trust of New York City.
5:31:50
We are an organization that preserves and promotes 23 historic houses that operate as museums and community spaces in public parks across all five boroughs of New York City.
5:32:00
These sites are unique but also indicative of the cultural role that parks play in the lives of everyday New Yorkers.
5:32:06
The city must invest in our beloved community spaces today to ensure that they have future tomorrow.
5:32:11
We have a vision for a future with well maintained and vibrant community spaces citywide, not just in Manhattan, and a future with places made for the people who live here.
5:32:21
We are joining organizations and individuals today to advocate for full restoration of the New York City parks in in the FY '26 budget.
5:32:29
Too many parks need maintenance support and there just simply are not enough park staff to assist.
5:32:33
The nuances of government and politics get lost in the reality that many New Yorkers experience in their local parks daily of unusable bathrooms, overgrown lawns, deteriorating conditions.
5:32:43
This reality is unfair to parkies who are in the field every day hearing from their neighbors and it's unfair to those who rely on these parks as critical city infrastructure.
5:32:51
And I just want to speak a little bit kind of off of my testimony today.
5:32:54
I was in Rufus King Park yesterday visiting one of the historic house museums, the King Manor Museum in Jamaica, Queens.
5:33:01
Beautiful museum.
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If you haven't been, should definitely visit.
5:33:04
But I was sitting there with the museum staff on the porch and we had a carafe of coffee that we were sharing and at least a dozen people came up to us within that hour.
5:33:12
They wanted to know about the museum.
5:33:14
They wanted to visit.
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They were just thrilled that they had such a gem in their neighborhood.
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And then they also told us of their grievances.
5:33:20
You know, we shared coffee with them and we were a friendly face that they could talk to and they said, I don't understand why we have these trash cans.
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I don't understand why they're overflowing.
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This bathroom isn't usable.
5:33:31
And it's very clear that there was frustration.
5:33:34
They have a lot of pride for their park and they really love their park.
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And this isn't just isolated to Rufus King Park, is a beautiful park.
5:33:42
It's happening across all five boroughs.
5:33:45
I really hope that we can continue to advocate to get 1% of the city budget for the Parks Department.
5:33:51
Thanks so much.