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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by John Surico, Senior Fellow for Climate and Opportunity at Center for an Urban Future
5:29:10
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153 sec
John Surico from the Center for an Urban Future testified on innovative ideas for dedicated parks revenue in New York City. He emphasized the need to end the cycle of temporary funding and proposed several strategies to generate sustainable funding for parks maintenance and improvements.
- Suggested implementing a ticket surcharge on stadiums located on parkland, potentially raising $11 million annually
- Proposed launching 20 new destination-worthy concessions over three years, potentially generating $10 million in recurring operating funds
- Recommended creating a parks maintenance fund to capture revenue from lease agreements on parkland and working with trusted partners in neighborhoods lacking conservancies
John Surico
5:29:10
go.
5:29:11
Good afternoon.
5:29:12
I'm John Serrico, the senior fellow for climate and opportunity at the Center for an Urban Future, an independent think tank focused on creating a stronger and more inclusive economy in New York.
5:29:21
Thank you for chair Krishnan and members of the committee for the opportunity to testify today.
5:29:26
For decades, New York City has struggled to provide sufficient funding to pay for its parks and open spaces.
5:29:32
The center was glad to see partial funding restored in this year's executive budget, but if history is any guide, that reprieve is only temporary.
5:29:39
To address the system's growing needs, this never ending budget dance must end, and policymakers here can help do that by pursuing new innovative ideas for dedicated parks revenue.
5:29:49
In January 2024, the center outlined 20 specific achievable ideas to do exactly that, from harnessing private development and parks carbon absorbing powers to expanding public private partnerships and pilots that monetize waste streams.
5:30:03
And this year we published two action briefs for two ideas in particular.
5:30:08
The first was our report in January outlining scenarios for implementing a ticket surcharge dedicated to park maintenance.
5:30:14
Research found that just a 1% fee or a dollar 20 on average placed on tickets sold at stadiums located on park land like City Field and Arthur Ashe could raise about $11,000,000 annually, but it would require a push both here and in Albany from local leaders to make that happen.
5:30:29
The second report in April called on the city to launch 20 new destination worthy concessions over the next three years.
5:30:35
We found that this effort could generate $10,000,000 or more in recurring operating dollars, enough to hire a hundred skilled gardeners, foresters, and other full time maintenance staff, and it's one that city hall could put into place tomorrow.
5:30:47
Money made in parks must stay in parks, and the fact that it often doesn't is a true only in New York problem.
5:30:54
To that end, the city council could create a parks maintenance fund to capture revenue allocated through future lease agreements with profit making entities on park land.
5:31:02
Additionally, in neighborhoods that lack a conservancy, the city could work with a group of trusted partners to receive new funding streams and dedicated to local care with clear guidance laid out in license agreements.
5:31:13
An eighty twenty split where revenue mostly stays in the park, it's made in with a portion going to underserved parks unable to handle a new concession or event would help bolster parks equity.
5:31:21
The center commends the city council for consistently championing parks and open space.
5:31:26
Thanks also to Chair Krishna for always his thoughtful consideration of the ideas we continue to put forth publicly.
5:31:31
By getting creative about generating dedicated new revenues for parks, city leaders can develop can deliver the healthy, vibrant parks and open spaces that New Yorkers deserve.
5:31:40
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
5:31:42
Thank you.