Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, February 21, 2002

THROUGH WORKSHOPS NEW PARTNERSHIPS ARE FORMED

Growing up not two blocks away from Prospect Park, I always took for granted New York City’s open spaces and natural areas. It was not until I returned to the city, and began working at Parks that I gained an appreciation for what a park can do for a neighborhood. There is at least one moment in each day that I work at Parks, when I sit back and realize all the wonderful things Parks does around this city. The amount of life and spirit, the sense of community and pride that even a small park space can provide is remarkable. In a time when the Parks budget has been cut, and then cut again, an important division within Parks stands out: Partnerships for Parks, the volunteer wing of the agency. Their mission statement clearly shows this.

In the upcoming years community support for Parks will be a vital part of what allows this agency to provide clean, green and safe parks within the confines of its budget. Parks manages over 28,000 acres of land throughout the five boroughs. This is a task that would be challenging if we did not have the support of community boards, block associations, "friends of" groups, and volunteers. Working with other divisions of Parks, Partnerships harnesses community resources to better support neighborhood parks through clean ups, plantings, organizing community meetings and other activities.

Education and training are a core part of the way Partnerships works to strengthen community groups. To this end, Partnerships conducts workshops in each borough addressing important issues that face communities and their parks. Depending on need, these workshops cover fundraising, alliance building, outreach, crime fighting, planning a calendar, and starting a friends group. Each workshop consists of a speaker (either a community member that has had success in the area being covered in the workshop, or a city official that can offer insight into getting things accomplished); a breakout period where attendees will assume different roles to better understand problems they might face and their possible solutions; and a networking time where community members can discuss the successes and failures in their parks. These workshops open new doors, create new friendships, and give every attendee new ways to approach problems in their park.

On February 5, 2002, a workshop focused on "Building Alliances with Elected Officials" was held at Stonehenge on Staten Island. Speaking at this workshop was Richmond County Clerk Stephen Fiala, a long-time supporter of parks. When holding office as a council member, Fiala sponsored many parks projects and believed wholeheartedly that "an investment in parks is an investment in our environment, in our future and our communities." Fiala gave the dozen community members attending the workshop a short course in the realities of the city budget. He explained that while $40 billion sounds like a lot of money, once you subtract fixed costs and the Federal and State contributions, you're not left with much. Acknowledging this, and working with your council member as a partner, not an adversary, is the best road to success, Fiala explained. Hearing his advice, the community members were inspired to form a coalition of Staten Island parks groups which will approach the council members with proposals for borough-wide parks improvements.

As is only natural, different boroughs, and even different neighborhoods, face different problems. The workshop speakers send out a few clear message that are true for all neighborhoods regardless social, economical or geographical differences.

1. Never give up! Persistence is the key to getting things accomplished in the public sector.
2. Keep everyone informed. When working with Parks, council members, community boards and the private sector, keep everyone in the loop; you never know who might step in to fill the void left by another.
3. Network, Network, Network! Get to know as many public officials as you can (even if they haven’t supported your projects in the past), and work closely with employee at the Parks Department.

With 7 years under their belt, 381 "friends of" groups operating in parks, and 1,054 dedicated parks groups that they work with citywide, Partnerships for Parks is truly reaching its golden age. Enabling community volunteers, assisting "friends of" groups and fostering there development, are things that improve parks, and things we can thank Partnerships for.

This piece was a pleasure to research and write. And although I learned a lot from the people at Partnerships for Parks, the opinions in this article are mine and do not represent any other organization of this agency. With questions, comments or complaints please contact me at jeff.sandgrund@parks.nyc.gov.

"Throw your dreams into space like a kite,

and you do not know what it will bring back,

a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country."

(February 21, 1903- 1977)