Press Releases

First-of-its-kind study finds that NYC Parks’ Community Parks Initiative encourages park use and may improve quality-of-life for all New Yorkers

Parks announces 20 locations throughout five boroughs to receive funding through Community Parks Initiative

Today, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue and City University of New York (CUNY) Distinguished Professor of Public Health Terry Huang announced the initial findings from a large-scale study of the public health impacts of the Community Parks Initiative (CPI), an equity-driven investment program through which Parks enhances greenspaces in underserved neighborhoods. Parks also announced the next twenty sites that will receive CPI funding in 2024 and 2025, with sites in all five boroughs.

According to the Physical Activity and Redesigned Community Spaces (PARCS) study, renovations made through CPI made New Yorkers more likely to spend time in their local parks. New Yorkers living near a CPI-renovated park were 66 percent more likely to have visited their park than New Yorkers living near non-renovated parks. The CUNY study also found that all New Yorkers may benefit from having a CPI-renovated park in their neighborhood, not just regular park-users, thanks to quality-of-life improvements that uplift the entire neighborhood.

“Beautiful, accessible public parks aren’t a luxury — they’re a necessity for our city’s health and quality of life,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Investing in green spaces in underserved communities is core to our public space agenda, which is why we’re building on the success of the Community Parks Initiative with twenty new sites across the five boroughs in the next two years. CUNY’s study demonstrates just how far public space investments can go toward creating a cleaner, greener, and more livable city for all New Yorkers.”

“This study demonstrates what we’ve always known: investing in our local parks helps all New Yorkers. Beautiful, well-maintained parks provide spaces for healthy recreation, community building, and connection with nature – so it’s no surprise that, according to these preliminary findings, New Yorkers living near high-quality parks can have a higher quality of life!” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “I’m so excited to bring these benefits to twenty more parks in all five boroughs over the next two years through our Community Parks Initiative, providing more New Yorkers in underserved neighborhoods with safe and beautiful places to play, take in the fresh air, and meet with neighbors.”

“CPI is an unprecedented park renovation and equity initiative on a large scale. Parks are a key feature of the built environment, which in turn is critical to the health and wellbeing of people,” said Terry Huang, Distinguished Professor of Public Health at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH). “We at CUNY SPH are proud of the collaboration we have with NYC Parks to understand how parks can improve health and wellbeing in New York City. While the physical improvement has been completed in many neighborhood parks thanks to CPI, this research is continuing and we will learn more about how best to engage communities in activating their parks and neighborhoods in the coming years.”

The study found that CPI investment increased park usage among adults, allowing more New Yorkers to reap the potential health benefits of time spent in greenspaces, such as exposure to fresh air, opportunities for healthy recreation, and improved mental health. New Yorkers living near a CPI-park were approximately 66 percent more likely to have visited the park in the past week than New Yorkers living near non-CPI parks, and were almost 40 percent more likely to have spent over 30 minutes there on weekends. The study also observed more consistent park usage at CPI-parks than at non-CPI parks over the course of a year, indicating that CPI investments kept New Yorkers coming back to their local parks.

The benefits of CPI may extend beyond park borders, according to the study. Preliminary findings from the research indicate that having a high-quality park correlates with improved quality of life for all neighbors, not just frequent park-users. The possible contribution of parks to local quality of life (a key health outcome that includes physical, social, and mental health) underscores the role that park investments can play in uplifting entire neighborhoods.

The study also found that activating parks with community programming and amenities correlates with increased park usage, engaging more New Yorkers in their local greenspaces. CUNY SPH is now further investigating the impact of park activation and programming on public health through a new study, the Supporting Parks and Revitalizing Communities Study (SPARCS), which began in Fall 2022.

Parks and community greenspaces have historically fulfilled a basic human need for connection—to self, family, and friends; to community and neighborhood; and to nature. Indeed, many study participants described connecting with nature as an important motivator for visiting their local parks.

Twenty New CPI Sites Announced

Parks is announcing twenty additional parks that are slated to receive investment through CPI in 2024 and 2025. The following parks will be transformed through CPI, with a total investment of over $100 million across all five boroughs:

Bronx

Galileo Playground (2024)

Washington Park (2024)

Harding Park (2024)

Fort Independence Playground (2025)

Eae J. Mitchell Park (2025)

Youth Village Playground (2025)

Brooklyn

Gonzalo Plascencia Playground (2024)

Carter G. Woodson Children’s Playground (2024)

St. Mark’s Playground (2024)

Hattie Carthan Playground (2025)

Livonia Park (2025)

Manhattan

Peter Minuit Playground (2024)

Holcombe Rucker Park (2024)

McKenna Square (2025)

Nathan Straus Playground (2025)

East River Playground (2025)

Queens

Colden Playground (2024)

Hallets Point Playground (2025)

Staten Island

Liotti Ikefugi Playground (2024)

Sobel Court Park (2025)

Parks will host Community Input Meetings for these projects beginning in January. New Yorkers can view the meeting schedule and register for meetings here: https://www.nycgovparks.org/reg/community-input-meetings

About the Study

CUNY’s PARCS study, which began in 2016, was a long-term longitudinal study that included over 2,000 New York City residents who live within one-third of a mile of a CPI-investment park. CUNY researchers have published ten papers in scientific journals sharing findings from the study; these papers can be viewed at the study website here: https://www.cunycscd.org/project-blog/physical-activity-and-redesigned-community-spaces-parcs-study-4eh6b. The study was funded by a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, as well as a total of $1 million from the Bryant Park Corporation, through their commitment to partner with Parks on CPI, as well as the New York State Health Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and CUNY.

About the Community Parks Initiative (CPI)

Through CPI, Parks makes equity-driven investments in neighborhoods with the highest need, based on considerations like poverty levels, density, and population growth. CPI investments include park reconstructions, targeted infrastructure improvements, and community programming. Since its launch in 2014, CPI has improved 65 parks across the city, with 22 additional active projects in design, procurement, or construction and 20 more to commence design in the next two years.

About CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH)

CUNY SPH is committed to promoting and sustaining healthier populations in New York City and around the world through excellence in education, research and service in public health and by advocating for sound policy and practice to advance social justice and improve health outcomes for all. sph.cuny.edu