Leadership at NYC Parks

830 Fifth Ave
New York, NY, 10065

(212) 360-1305

Contact Commissioner Donoghue

Sue Donoghue was appointed Commissioner of NYC Parks by Mayor Eric Adams in February 2022. She has made equity and sustainability top priorities as Parks works to promote the health and well-being of New Yorkers and their communities, strengthening livability.  

During Commissioner Donoghue’s first two years, Parks completed 240 capital projects, representing over $750 million in investments in NYC’s communities. The majority of these projects have included resiliency elements to mitigate extreme heat, capture carbon, and slow and filter storm water to improve NYC’s environment. The agency also reached its highest tree planting number in six years, focusing on expanding tree cover in neighborhoods that are at risk of extreme heat. Under Commissioner Donoghue’s leadership, Parks has also expanded its commitment to M/WBE contractors for tree planting. Parks has expanded recreational and cultural programming at 14 recreation centers in neighborhoods most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing operating hours across the system and 50 percent specifically at the 14 centers. Additionally, through the Second Shift initiative, Parks has deployed 240 cleaning staff for evenings and weekend hours, primarily in underserved neighborhoods, to ensure parks are clean in communities that depend on them.  

In June 2024, Commissioner Donoghue launched Vital Parks for All: Investing in NYC’s Living Infrastructure, a plan to equitably strengthen the health, environment and communities of NYC through our parks system. The plan includes an initial $3.2B investment to deliver more Vital Parks elements to communities that need them most; shoring up aging infrastructure, adding new amenities to expand access to beautiful, high-quality public greenspaces, and empowering New Yorkers through public programs and data tools to better celebrate, support and advocate for their parks. Among the ten strategic initiatives tied to Vital Parks is Let’s Swim NYC, a more than $1 billion capital investment in building new, improving, and protecting New York City’s public pools, the city’s highest period of investment in swimming infrastructure since the 1970s. The initiative expands safe water access throughout the five boroughs, promoting public safety and helping more New Yorkers learn life-saving water safety skills. The plan also advances Stronger Parks, Safer Communities, a $400M investment in play and facility upgrades in neighborhoods with high levels of gun violence, along with over 1,000 outdoor public programs to activate parks and build community, improving safety, health and livability.

Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Donoghue served as President of Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization that operates the park in partnership with the City of New York, and Prospect Park Administrator, from 2014 through 2021, leading fundraising and revenue generating activities that provided $12M in general operating support for the park annually and raised over $130 million for capital improvements. From 2007 to 2014, she served as a Senior Advisor and Assistant Commissioner at NYC Parks, where she spearheaded the agency’s work on PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg’s blueprint for enhancing the city’s sustainability.

Sue Donoghue earned a Master's in Public Administration from NYU’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. She is a long-time New Yorker, and she and her husband and three children avidly enjoy New York City parks as part of their daily life.