Committee on Parks and Recreation meeting
May 6, 2026, 1:00 PM
The Committee on Parks and Recreation held an oversight hearing on the Parks Department's engagement with community-based organizations. The committee also heard Int 0822, a bill to name two city thoroughfares including Thierry Henry Way in Manhattan. No votes were taken.
What was discussed
- Committee convenes and swears in the Parks Department Chair Ty Hankerson opened the Parks and Recreation Committee oversight hearing on the Parks Department's engagement with community-based organizations and volunteers, and Committee Counsel swore in the agency witnesses.
- Chair Hankerson frames the hearing on parks volunteers and Partnership for Parks Chair Ty Hankerson opened by describing how partner organizations and volunteers—anchored by Partnership for Parks—support the park system, and said he wanted the hearing to make it easier for community groups to engage and to close the fundraising gap between well-resourced and smaller groups.
- Council Member Thomas-Henry introduces the Pelé Way / Thierry Henry Way co-naming bill Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry spoke in support of Intro 822, which she co-sponsors with Council Member Virginia Maloney to co-name Pelé Way and Thierry Henry Way in Queens, framing it as celebrating soccer, community and culture ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- NYC Parks testifies on volunteer programs and Partnership for Parks Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson (NYC Parks) described the agency's community engagement work—Partnership for Parks, It's My Park, Green Thumb, stewardship and the Super Stewards program—reporting over $900,000 in 2025 grassroots grants and hundreds of active community groups, plus efforts to
- City Parks Foundation testifies on the public-private partnership Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation, described the foundation's role as the private partner in Partnership for Parks, contributing $3.6 million plus $2.6 million in annual Green Fund grants, and highlighted the Catalyst program, fiscal sponsorship for 200 groups, and a request
- How does Parks ensure volunteers don't replace paid staff, and who is liable when a volunteer is injured? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson told Council Member Mercedes Narcisse that volunteer work supplements rather than replaces the agency's paid maintenance staff, that gardener salaries are set through collective bargaining, and that license agreements are handled by the General Counsel's office
- How does the Parks Department inspect parks and enforce post-event cleanup? Matt Drury explained to Chair Ty Hankerson that the independent Parks Inspection Program conducts randomized 'secret shopper' inspections rating cleanliness and condition, and Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson said local staff check permitted events and can bill or bond groups that fail to clean
- How does Staten Island fare in Partnership for Parks resources, and why does volunteer turnout appear down? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson and Heather Lubov told Council Member Frank Morano that resources are distributed across boroughs and that a Catalyst organizer works three Staten Island parks; on the apparent volunteer decline, Nelson and Assistant Commissioner Karina Smith said the Mayor's
- What are the biggest complaints about the special-events permitting process? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson told Council Member Frank Morano that groups found requirements—insurance, sound and generator permits, 21-day lead times and site availability—unclear up front, and described website updates, a multilingual how-to guide, and Partnership for Parks coordinators who
- How can community groups and council offices tap Partnership for Parks help? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson told Chair Ty Hankerson that Parks works with council offices and would host informational events, and Heather Lubov reported the newest round of Green Fund grants—49 grants worth $325,000, most in environmental-justice communities—while noting a decline in Queens
- How should park volunteers report smoking in parks? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson advised Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez that friends-of-parks volunteers should use 311 rather than confronting violators, since complaints route to Park Enforcement Patrol and help target patrols, and that PEP officers educate first but can issue summonses.
- What standards govern community programming, and should Parks require referrals to PFP? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson told Chair Ty Hankerson that special-event permits mainly screen for site availability, insurance and sound, and that denials are rare; on his concern that groups with strained staff relationships could be disadvantaged, Matt Drury and Karina Smith said referrals
- How are private park partnerships kept equitable, and how will Parks rebuild the volunteer pipeline? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson and Heather Lubov told Council Member Yusef Salaam that the City Parks Foundation partnership and Green Fund direct private dollars to under-resourced parks; on the reported 25% volunteer decline, Assistant Commissioner Karina Smith said It's My Park was only
- How does Parks handle athletic-field lighting hours and permit demand? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson told Chair Ty Hankerson that athletic-field denials are low, that a 10 p.m. lighting cutoff balances demand against residential neighbors, and that about 15 lighting projects are in the capital pipeline; Matt Drury noted the agency also hears requests to shut
- Why do Roy Wilkins and Baisley Pond parks go through different permit offices? Deputy Commissioner Margaret Nelson and Matt Drury told Chair Ty Hankerson that local-scale events should be handled by the borough permit office and larger events by the citywide team, and agreed to look into the Southeast Queens discrepancy he raised.
- NYC H2O calls for a license agreement to steward Ridgewood Reservoir Matt Malina, director of NYC H2O, testified that the group has provided over $3 million in unpaid stewardship at Ridgewood Reservoir but cannot accept grants or contracts without a license agreement, and said the agency's refusals cost a $770,000 gatehouse electrification grant from State Senator
- Team New York Aquatics asks for fair, affordable pool permitting Kara Nowakowski of Team New York Aquatics, the city's largest LGBT-inclusive adult aquatics charity, said 75% of its budget goes to renting pools and urged Parks to adopt transparent pool-permitting rules, price caps, and expanded year-round pool access for CBOs.
- Art in the Park credits Partnership for Parks for community programming Shawnique Woolfalk, founder of the East Harlem nonprofit Art in the Park, thanked Partnership for Parks and the Parks Department for the hands-on support that enables her group's free programming and biannual beautification events at Alice Kornegay Triangle.
- Christopher Leon Johnson backs the soccer co-naming and street-vendor concerns Christopher Leon Johnson testified in support of Intro 822 and the Pelé co-naming, and urged the Council to direct a share of bike-parking infrastructure to minority-owned businesses.
- Kissena Synergy praises Parks partnership and asks for more funding Leona Chin, program manager for Kissena Synergy in Flushing, described the group's stewardship, water sampling and rain-garden work with Parks and urged restored and increased funding, noting the loss of key personnel each fiscal year.
Agenda
2 items
- T2026-1787 Oversight - Examining the Parks Department’s Engagement with Community Based Organizations and Volunteers. Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0822-2026 A Local Law in relation to the naming of two thoroughfares and public places, Thierry Henry Way, Borough of Manhattan and Pelé Way, Borough of Queens, and the repeal of this local law upon the expiration thereof Hearing Held by Committee