City Parks Foundation awards Green Fund Pathways Grants to change-makers building equitable and vibrant parks
The grants will support 10 diverse projects driving systemic change in NYC’s parks and open spaces
Gem Sorenson and Ellie Phillips looking at plants at Under The K Bridge Park. Read more here. Photo John McCarten
Special from the Parks Foundation
July 11, 2024
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CITYWIDE — This week,City Parks Foundation awarded $500,000 in grant funding to 10 recipients through the 2024 NYC Green Fund Pathways Grants program, which supports systemic changes that will lead to a more equitable and resilient park and open space system, more and alternative funding sources, and improved operations between the city and its nonprofit and volunteer partners. This year’s Pathways grantees include nonprofit collaborations and partnerships, new and exciting programming, and innovative policy research and advocacy:
Brooklyn Greenway Initiative will work with NYC Greenways Coalition to build a “constituency for greenways” that participates in greenway planning, engages with elected and public officials for their use and construction, and supports the NYC agencies and nonprofits that maintain, steward and program greenways.
This planned new expansion of the city’s greenway network, encompassing all five boroughs, was unveiled on Thursday. Read more here. Photo: NYC Mayor’s Office
Center for an Urban Future will create a series of policy briefs, detailed action plans and public forums to explore and build awareness of two of the most promising ideas from their most recent report, “Paying for the Growing Needs of NYC’s Parks.”
Design Trust for Public Space’s “Untaped: Removing Barriers for Public Space Programming” examines permitting and liability regulatory structures that severely limit activations in parks and public spaces. The project will make a legal, economic and social case for reducing these barriers with precise and well-researched policy models.
The Gowanus Canal. Read more here. Brooklyn Eagle photo by Mary Frost
Gowanus Canal Conservancy will work with the RAIN (Rain Garden In Action) Coalition to enhance its capacity and formalize its structure. Additionally, the project will expand the Coalition’s model of rain garden maintenance, working with community volunteers and workforce development trainees. This work will lead to significant improvements in green infrastructure management and function, meaningful community engagement, and economic opportunities for disadvantaged communities in NYC.
New Yorkers for Parks will bring together a broad range of organizations, governmental agencies and concerned citizens to rally supporters, partners and all New Yorkers through the Play Fair coalition to build public support for an equitable parks system that is clean, safe, green and resilient.
NBK Parks Staff: Jeff Hewitt, Karrie Whitkin and Katie Denny Horowitz. Read more here. Brooklyn Eagle photos by John McCarten
North Brooklyn Parks Alliance will create NYC’s first business improvement district (BID) tailored specifically to generate sustained revenue for parks and open space maintenance and will develop a comprehensive framework for this model to be replicated in other neighborhoods.
Riverside Park Conservancy and Van Cortlandt Park Alliance will take actionable steps towards implementing the “Forest Management Framework for New York City” in two parks by collecting critical data to pursue large-scale funding and developing a practical roadmap and toolkit for parks nonprofits to follow.
South Bronx Unite will work with environmental justice partners to enhance and test its new Community Values Calculator, a tool that measures the value of the social and environmental benefits of a green space and that takes into account the priorities and needs of the surrounding community. The resulting data will strengthen and empower advocacy for the city’s investment in public green space.
Urban Design Forum and the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development will lead research and evaluation, policy development, and forums to identify and advance recommendations that will help fund, train and ease red tape for community-based organizations that steward parks and public spaces.
Waterfront Alliance will create a How-To Guide to instruct individuals and community-based organizations on how to build awareness and secure funding for unused or undeveloped open space to be turned into publicly accessible waterfront parks.
Generous private support for the NYC Green Fund is provided by the Albert Giving Fund, Altman Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, The Charles H. Revson Foundation, Con Edison, Essex Avenue Foundation, The J.M. Kaplan Fund, The JPB Foundation, Klein Family Foundation, Leon Levy Foundation, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Libra Fund, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, The Monarch Foundation, The New York Community Trust, and The Thompson Family Foundation. The NYC Green Fund’s Urban Forest Grants are brought to you by Con Edison.
The McGolrick Park Garden Club. Read more here. Photo by Karrie Witkin
About City Parks Foundation
At City Parks Foundation, we are dedicated to invigorating and transforming parks into dynamic, vibrant centers of urban life through sports, arts, community building and environmental education programs for all New Yorkers. Our programs — located in more than 320 parks, recreation centers and public schools across New York City — reach over 278,000 people each year. Our ethos is simple: thriving parks mean thriving communities.
About the NYC Green Fund
The NYC Green Fund is a pooled grant program intended to support an equitable and resilient network of parks and open spaces to benefit the well-being of all New Yorkers. The Fund was launched during the pandemic to support essential stewardship for the city’s green spaces and has since evolved into a longer-term program to provide financial, network and technical support for open space stewards. The NYC Green Fund is administered by City Parks Foundation.
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