Parks Department Celebrates Holiday Season With Light Displays Across City

The light displays offer local options for those who can’t or choose not to see typically more crowded options like the Rockefeller Center tree. On December 11, 2020, the Parks Department announced that this holiday season, New Yorkers can enjoy local light displays at Parks administrative buildings and parks around the city. This season, Parks will host over 80 lighting displays across the City. 



Mayor de Blasio Closes Beaches for Swimming

“No swimming, no parties, no sports, no gatherings.” On May 17, 2020, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the City will not open its beaches for swimming on Memorial Day weekend or in the foreseeable future. The Mayor explained during a press conference that despite this decision, people will be permitted to walk the beach so as long as they do not congregate. This weekend and going forward, beach patrons can expect … <Read More>


Parks’ Rules on Vending Upheld

Parks’ rules limited where vendors of expressive material could sell their wares in City parks. The Parks Department adopted “Expressive Matter Vending Rules” which restricted the sale of “materials or objects with expressive content, such as newspapers, books, or writings, or visual art such as paintings, prints, photography, or sculpture.” The new rules limited the sale of expressive materials to 100 specifically designated spots in Union Square Park, Battery Park, High Line Park, and Central … <Read More>


City Council Holds Another Hearing on the Parks Capital Process

Other agencies still missing from Council’s hearing on Park’s capital process. On November 12, 2019, the City Council’s Committee on Parks, Committee on Contracts, and Subcommittee on Capital Budget held a joint oversight hearing titled “Improving the Efficiency of Parks Department Capital Projects.” The hearing was chaired respectively by Council Members Peter Koo, Ben Kallos and Vanessa L. Gibson. This hearing was held in order to create a dialogue about the state of the capital … <Read More>


Ribbon Cut for Major Astoria Playground Improvement

The $1 million project is the latest in a series of renovations of the Triborough Bridge Playgrounds. On July 16, 2019, the Parks Department announced the completion and opening of a new dog run and revamped basketball courts at Astoria’s Triborough Bridge Playground C with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Triborough Playground C is one of six in a family of playgrounds, located on Hoyt Avenue North and Hoyt Avenue South between 21st and 26th Streets, that … <Read More>