Mayor Zohran Mamdani officially kicked off a new initiative to make emergency repairs at parks, playgrounds, and rec centers across the city, in three weeks or less.
The “Renew Crew” will bring 24 painters, electricians, plumbers and other workers to make fast improvements to Parks Department sites.
The repairs aren’t major capital projects. Instead, the crew will focus on fixing broken water fountains, patching up asphalt on a basketball court, or powerwashing a dirty bench.
“New Yorkers shouldn’t have to wait months for the basic repairs that make our parks better,” the mayor said in a statement. “We’re going to get the job done quickly and make sure every neighborhood has public spaces that New Yorkers can be proud of.”
As a candidate, Mamdani promised to commit 1% of the city’s overall budget to the Parks Department, which would be around $1.2 billion. In his first budget though, the agency received around $709 million, short of the goal.
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Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura told The City Reporter these small repairs can greatly improve someone’s experience at a park.
“While you’re waiting for a project to go through the capital process, we can do a lot to improve your play with just the skills and talents of our in-house folks,” she said. “This was the idea that we would do very quick fixes but really improve the play quality.”
While the Renew Crew will start off with in-house staff, they also plan to hire new people for it in the spring, Shimamura said.
The new team will be unveiled Monday at Dry Harbor Playground in Glendale, Queens, with work expected on two basketball courts, shuffleboard, bocce and horseshoe courts, a water fountain, fence posts and more. Crews were also set to put new protective flooring on playgrounds and improve plants around a 9/11 memorial there, according to officials.
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The Parks Department already has a list of the places they’ll hit first but are also hoping to hear from New Yorkers about where the Renew Crew can hit next.
“I want to be in there, be out there fast,” Shimamura said.
The Parks Department currently has 499 active construction projects around the city, from the design phase to active construction, according to its own tracker.
There are also 225 proposed projects, and 128 partner projects, where they’re working with another agency or private entity.
Since Jan. 1, there have been more than 93,000 311 complaints about Parks Department facilities, although not all of them are for repairs or maintenance issues.
“We’ve loved the mayor’s ‘pothole politics’ approach: fixing the Williamsburg Bridge bump, filling the potholes, and taking care of the things New Yorkers encounter every day,” Kathy Park Price, director of advocacy and policy at New Yorkers for Parks, said in a statement.
“We’re excited to see our playgrounds getting some of that treatment too,” she said.
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The post Mamdani Touts Speedy Parks Repair Crews appeared first on The City Reporter.
