2013 Annual Report 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 1

Transcription

1 2013 Annual Report 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 1

2 Letter from the Executive Director When New Yorkers for Parks Chairman Ed Wallace called me in February about NY4P s vacant Executive Director position, the offer was, as I later told The New York Times, too perfect for words. I wasn t just saying that. It s not like I was prepared to give up retirement for just any job. It was the work of New Yorkers for Parks over the past three years that really convinced me that this was, in fact, a dream job. I knew I would be taking over a strong organization that was making an impact on a citywide scale, in large part due to the work of my predecessor, Holly Leicht, the excellent staff and committed Board. In 2013, NY4P worked with park advocates to develop Parks Platform 2013, an election-year policy blueprint that laid the foundation for a fresh look at how to create a more equitable park system from specific budget fixes to an increased focus on neighborhood parks in general. Today, we re seeing many of those recommendations embraced by the de Blasio administration, and in media reporting about New York City parks. We also worked last year to navigate the often complex land-use public review process to help the New York City Council secure more than $25 million in private funding for the long-beleaguered Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the most used greenspace in Queens. At the same time, we stood up for that park s users by opposing a plan to build a Major League Soccer stadium in the heart of the park a plan that has since been abandoned. Much of New Yorkers for Parks advocacy work flows from our widely respected independent research, and in 2013 the organization made a real impact on that front, too. Our Report Card on Large Parks shined a spotlight on some of the most glaring maintenance and operations needs across the park system. Our East Side Open Space Index report has already led to open-space upgrades in that area. And our playground utilization study, done in collaboration with researchers from New York University, has provided a national model for urban park managers seeking to use usership data to guide resource allocation. These aren t just reports that are published and then filed away. Finally, we once again reached thousands of park advocates and stewards through our Daffodil Project, which was founded as a memorial to 9/11 and has become one of the largest volunteer initiatives in the city s history. In 2013, NY4P turned its focus to communities hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy: from Midland Beach, Staten Island to Far Rockaway, Queens. It was in those places in schoolyards and parks, on public housing lawns and sidewalk strips where we did our part, however small, to hasten the recovery. So when Ed called, my decision to accept the job was easy. In 2013, New Yorkers for Parks continued to build its reputation as a widely respected and relevant organization: always at the center of the action, always pushing government to do better in a constructive way, always making an impact on the lives of New Yorkers in every corner of the city. Thank you for your generous support and partnership. Tupper Thomas Executive Director 1 NEW YORKERS FOR PARKS

3 2013 Daffodil Project A Shoreline Rebirth 2013 Daffodil Project Plantings Volunteer Plantings School Plantings NY4P Plantings All along the shores battered by Hurricane Sandy, there were thousands of reminders of rebirth this spring, following another record-setting year for our annual Daffodil Project. The initiative began as a 9/11 memorial tribute in 2001 and has blossomed into one the largest volunteer initiatives in New York City s history. The Project s 2013 numbers are staggering: more than 450,000 free bulbs were planted and distributed. More than 180 schools, 850 civic groups and individuals, and 25,000 children participated. More than five million bulbs have been planted since the program began. Not only did we grow our school partnerships; we expanded our work with the New York City Housing Authority s Garden & Greening program, bringing free bulbs to the Authority s afterschool programs across the city. We also grew our collaboration with the Horticultural Society of New York, with whom we planted on Rikers Island in In 2013, we brought the Daffodil Project to the Society s New York City Department of Transportation Neighborhood Plaza Partner- ship, which planted bulbs in public plazas in several low-income neighborhoods. As usual, we used the Project as a means of generating open space stewardship among community volunteers, such as students and teachers at P.S. 48 in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. Last summer, those students discovered a slave burial ground in Joseph Rodman Drake Park one of the few greenspaces in the area. Now, their work at the park has evolved into a broader stewardship effort. Last fall, NY4P joined them to plant daffodils there, which will serve as an annual reminder of a site that had long been forgotten. Our work with the school continues in But by and large, our 2013 Daffodil Project work was focused on areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Whether we were holding our first Rockaways bulb giveaway, or planting at schools in Midland Beach, the East Village or Broad Channel, or with Housing Authority residents in Far Rockaway, Coney Island or Mariner s Harbor, the Daffodil Project did what it has done best since its inception: brought New Yorkers together, fostered community and civic pride, and created a sense of rebirth and resilience that returns every spring across the city A N N UA L R E P O RT 2

4 Advocacy Election-Year Platform and Panel Helps Set Citywide Parks Agenda Are we creating an inherently inequitable parks system? Are we not focusing enough on improving neighborhood parks? We posed those questions as part of our Parks Platform 2013, a comprehensive policy guide for the incoming administration that we developed after hearing from more than 100 park advocates from every borough at a town hall last April. The Platform offered policy proposals on a number of issues, and called for: Allowing the Parks Department more discretion over how its capital budget is spent A reinvigorated Parks maintenance budget A more restrictive approach to parkland alienation More coordination between City agencies on open space matters A more transparent and efficient Parks Department 3 NEW YORKERS FOR PARKS NY4P produced a park equity panel as part of the Talking Transition series in November. The discussion was moderated by former NY4P Executive Director Holly Leicht and featured current Executive Director Tupper Thomas. After the Platform was unveiled in The New York Times in June, we took it on the road, presenting it on NY1 s Road to City Hall, and in community meetings across the city throughout the summer. By our August Platform rally with advocates at City Hall, the document had been endorsed by 14 New York City Council Members, 16 Community Boards, 25 local citywide and statewide organizations and nearly 400 individuals, and generated statements on park policy from every major mayoral candidate. Finally, we presented it to mayoral campaign staffs, helping to lay the foundation for a broader conversation about park equity and funding policies in the year to come. We continued that advocacy push in November, when we hosted a panel, Four Immediate Ways to Equitably Improve NYC s Parks. The panel was moderated by former NY4P Executive Director Holly Leicht and featured former NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Faith In New York Executive Director Joseph McKellar, New York State Senator Daniel Squadron and current NY4P Executive Director Tupper Thomas. The event was part of the Talking Transition series, a two-week initiative sponsored by a coalition of NYC foundations, aimed at engaging the public in the mayoral transition. NY4P Advocacy Delivers $25 Million for Flushing Meadows Following a 2013 NY4P advocacy campaign, Queens most popular park is on the verge of a rebirth. In conjunction with City Council approval of two development projects the National Tennis Center s Expansion and Queens Development Group s Willets West Project our advocacy helped deliver more than $25 million to improve and maintain Flushing Meadows Corona Park and seed a new nonprofit alliance for the park all without the loss of publicly usable parkland. Thanks to funding from the Altman Foundation, J.M. Kaplan Fund, and New York Community Trust, NY4P hired a leading national expert to conduct an independent study to estimate the park's current and upgraded maintenance costs, which helped determine the eventual amount given to the park. Additionally, NY4P opposed a plan to build a Major League Soccer soccer stadium in the heart of the park in a New York Daily News Op-Ed. The City and Major League Soccer backed off plans to build in the park. NY4P worked closely with New York City Council Member Julissa Ferreras throughout 2013 to secure more than $25 million for Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

5 Research Report Card on Large Parks Reveals Funding Shortcomings While New York City s 43 parks between 20 and 500 acres averaged a B+ on our latest Report Card, old issues kept popping up in new places, revealing that the Parks Department simply hasn t had sufficient resources to keep up with the maintenance demands of 29,000 acres of parkland. The report was unveiled in The New York Times, and generated significant discussion among public officials and in the press about the lowest-scoring parks, including St. Mary s Park the largest park in the South Bronx. NY4P continues to stay engaged with the community surrounding that park. The Report Card series, launched in 2003, is the only independent comparative survey of park maintenance across all five boroughs. Following the release of the report, current City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito hailed it as a valuable inventory of one our city s most important public resources. Open Space Report Spurs Action on Manhattan s East Side There are 25,000 people living on Manhattan s East Side who are not within acceptable walking distance of any public park. This was just one of the findings of our fourth Open Space Index report, which was released in August through a story in The Wall Street Journal. Based on hundreds of hours of on-the-ground surveying and analysis, the report revealed that New York City Council districts 4 and 5 fall far short of nearly every one of the 15 New York City-specific benchmarks that comprise our Open Space Index even when Central Park is taken into account. NY4P s open space assessment of Mott Haven was based on hundreds of hours of on-the-ground surveying. The study, funded in part by Council Member Daniel Garodnick and former Council Member Jessica Lappin, has already catalyzed a push among community advocates and local elected officials for increased open space opportunities in the area. Thus far, officials have utilized the report s recommendations and secured public access to a garden at Hunter College, and funding for East River Esplanade improvements through both the public budget and development negotiations. Tracking Usership to Guide Resource Allocation In an era of budget constraints, how can the Parks Department most efficiently allocate public dollars? Answering that question requires tracking visitor patterns across the park system. In a December report, NY4P partnered with New York University to demonstrate how such a model could work specifically, in ten playgrounds across the city. The report includes a discussion of how such a tracking method could help the city assess not only Parks Department resource allocation, but also initiatives such as the Department of Transportation s Public Plazas Program. The Parks Department is weighing a broader usershiptracking program, and has publicly acknowledged that our study is both the impetus for this policy consideration, and a blueprint should it be implemented. Surveying the South Bronx NY4P staff surveyed the open space of the South Bronx s Mott Haven neighborhood throughout the fall of 2013 to inform our Mott Haven Open Space Index, which was released in early The report grew out of a request by the New York City Housing Authority as part of a comprehensive planning process aimed at securing a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for the neighborhood ANNUAL REPORT 4

6 Donors Gifts and pledge payments made January 1-- December 31, 2013 $50,000+ Altman Foundation Booth Ferris Foundation Citi Sibyl R. Golden Catherine Morrison Golden New York City Council The Related Companies, L.P. $25,000-$49,999 Aetna Foundation, Inc. Con Edison Company of New York, Inc. Doris Duke Charitable Foundation The J. M. Kaplan Fund David L. Klein, Jr. Foundation L+M Development Partners, Inc. Lynden B. & Leigh M. Miller Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, Inc Virginia Veras/Ernst & Young LLP Edward C. Wallace/Greenberg Traurig LLP The Winston Foundation $10,000-$24,999 Anonymous (1) Artimus Construction Lily Auchincloss Foundation Bloomberg LP Donald A. Capoccia Central Park Conservancy Margaret Doyle & Andrew Capitman Dunn Development Corporation Edelman Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Paul R. Gottsegen Greenacre Foundation The William and Mary Greve Foundation Antonia & George J. Grumbach, Jr. Robin & Mark Hoenig IAC Leucadia National Corporation The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation Carol MacKinnon Fox The Catherine C. Marron Foundation MediaEdge:cia LLC Monadnock Construction, Inc. The New York Community Trust New York University Oliver Wyman, Inc. Publicis Worldwide Charles H. Revson Foundation, Inc. RLM Finsbury, LLC Joseph & Diane Steinberg Robert Sterling Clark Foundation Fern & Michael Thomas Tishman Construction, an AECOM Company Two Trees Management Co. The Donald and Barbara Zucker Family Foundation Former NY4P Executive Director Holly Leicht, former Deputy Mayor Caswell Holloway, Honoree and former Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler, and NY4P Chair Edward Wallace at the 2013 Gala. The Bloomberg administration's Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency was also recognized. $5,000-$9,999 Anonymous (1) Elaine & Jeffrey Allen The Durst Organization LP The Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. Audrey & Harvey Feuerstein Richard Gilder & Lois Chiles Goldman Sachs & Co. Robert Francis Goldrich Lettire Construction Leon Levy Foundation Local Initiatives Support Corporation Peter L. Malkin Elizabeth Propp Resource & Event Management Richman Housing Resources LLC The May and Samuel Rudin Foundation Spectra Energy Corp. Tishman Speyer Properties, LP Roy and Niuta Titus Foundation, Inc. $1,000-$4,999 Arker Companies Bank of America Alan Bell & Elisa Barnes BFC Partners The John N. Blackman Sr. Foundation Mr. & Mrs. James A. Block Blue Sea Development Company The Brodsky Organization Ann L. Buttenwieser Dr. & Mrs. Felix Chen Civic Entertainment Group, LLC Code Green Solutions COMCAST / NBCUniversal The Community Preservation Corp Dr. Michelle Copeland The Cowles Charitable Trust Debevoise & Plimpton LLP Christian DiPalermo - CDD Strategies Barbara S. Dixon Douglaston Development EarthShare New York Edison Properties, LLC Mr. & Mrs. Samuel M. Feder Mr. Mark Gallogly & Ms. Elizabeth Strickler Nellie & Robert Gipson Michael & Nadine Grobstein Robert Hammond Marian S. Heiskell Hines Interest Limited Partnership Hirschen Singer & Epstein LLP HR&A Advisors J&AR Foundation The Joelson Foundation Kathy Kermian-Leicht & Eric Leicht Peter L. Kohnstamm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP Carol Loewenson & Andrew Levander Kathleen Madden & Andrew Waldman Caryn L. Magid The Curtis W. McGraw Foundation Charles McKinney & Susan Chin Richard & Ronay Menschel Morgan Stanley New York City Partnership Foundation Ellen J. Odoner Abby M. O'Neill Picket Family Foundation Philip Pitruzzello Raymond James and Associates, Inc. Red Stone Equity Partners Christopher Rizzo David Rockefeller Valerie & Jack Rowe Robert K. Steel Family Foundation Taconic Investment Partners LLC TD Bank Lucy R. Waletzky, M.D. Delia Marshall & Tom Wallace Mr. David J. Walsh Waterman Properties, LLC Adam Weinstein The Estate of Katharine N. Winslow Lisa Woods $500-$999 Anonymous (1) A. Estéban & Co. AKRF Arent Fox LLP Robert H. Arnow Micaela Birmingham & Peter Putka Niels Blok & John Barber Blum Family Foundation James F. Capalino Isabel M. Carden, MBE Deirdre Carson Ellen J. Chesler & Matthew J. Mallow Miles Coon Jacqueline H. Dryfoos Frances & David Eberhart Richard D. Emery Lola Finkelstein Joyce Purnick & Max Frankel Roy Furman General Contractors Association of New York Kenneth D. Gibbs Elizabeth Greenstein Laura Hansen Happold Consulting Fort Tryon Park Trust Marianna Koval Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP Andrew Manshel Mega Contracting Ethan Miller MTA NYC Transit Authority O'Connor Davies, LLP Ms. Phyllis Reich Mr. & Mrs. Richard Rothman Irving Scher Linda Schupack TLM Associates LLP Irene Van Slyke Darrell Gay & Carmen Walker-Gay Andrew & Lauren Weisenfeld WHEDco Madelyn and Steven Wils Fund 5 NEW YORKERS FOR PARKS

7 New Yorkers for Parks, Inc. Statement of Financial Activites $250-$499 Anonymous (3) Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin S. Baxt David Bragdon & Andrea Bragdon Vanelli Margaret Wallace Browne & William Browne Mr. & Mrs. Randy Browning Carl Schurz Park Conservancy City Parks Foundation, Inc. CM&F Group, Inc. Chris Cochran & Stephanie Smith H. Hartley du Pont Mark N. Foggin Eileen Fox Robert L. Frome Gerald & Marion Galison Janet Gold Michael & Anne B. Golden Mary & Harvey Goldschmid The Gramercy Park Foundation Inc. Francis Greenburger Debbie Halpern & Jeremy Singer Steven Horowitz Hudson Companies, Inc Tessa Huxley Richard Kahan Florence M. Kelly Sarah Kovner Brenda Levin R. Alan Levinson Emily Lyons Marshall & Gail Miller Gifford Miller Steven Moskowitz Piper Jaffray Employee Giving Program Richard Propp The Prospect Hill Foundation Public Works Partners Lorna Ronald Daniel & Joanna S. Rose Fund, Inc. Michael Rotchford Ms. Linda R. Safran Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden Solid State Consulting, Inc. Elizabeth & John Spilotro Deirdre Stanley Strong Foundation of New York United States Tennis Association, Inc. Debbie Walker Mary Wallace Edward B. Whitney Mr. Mark C. Zauderer 2013 OPERATING REVENUE Foundations $ 533,700 44% Corporations $ 59,948 5% Individuals $ 32,185 3% Government $ 32,725 3% Other revenue $ 32,547 3% Special Events $ 508,858 42% Total $ 1,199, OPERATING EXPENSES Research $ 301,962 27% Outreach & Public Information $ 201,375 18% Advocacy $ 150,522 13% Daffodil Project $ 119,540 11% Management & General $ 197,108 18% Fundraising $ 147,636 13% Total $ 1,118,143 $100-$249 Anonymous (3) Lisa M. Ackerman Gabriella Amabile Alan & Judith Appelbaum Douglas N. Apple Mr. & Mrs. Peter Barnet Saretta Barnet Linda Beech & Tom Schueller William S. Beinecke Robert Bender & Loretta Nash Adrian Benepe Frederick Bland Louis H. Blumengarten Adam Blumenkrantz Vicki & Larry Botel Broadway Mall Association Mosette Broderick Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. Sally T. Butler Ann & Harry Buttrick Ruby Carmen Henri E. Cauvin Cynthia Crowley Joan K. Davidson Suzanne Davis Beatriz de la Torre Kathleen de las Heras Christine Donovan Leslie Dorn Nancy Druckman Eric Enderlin Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. Margot Ernst Wendy E. Feuer Billy Finnegan & Don Summa Elizabeth C. Forster Steven Frillman Celeste Frye David & Camille Gillespie Elizabeth B. Gilmore Jeanne Goodwin Jonathan Greenburg & Elizabeth Ely Katharine Winslow Herzog Robert L. Hoguet, III Marc Jahr Belinda Kaye Susan Kensky Catherine Klema & David Resnick Mr. & Mrs. Neal F. Kronley Starling R. Lawrence Fred Leicht, Jr. Jack T. Linn Susan Lowry Peter T. Madden Elaine Matthews Ann McChord Camilla McFadden Joan Mendelson Toshiko Mori Adele Morrissette Joel Motley/Carmona Motley Inc. Regina Myer Greg O'Connell / O'Connell Organization Courtney O'Malley & Dan Wilhelm Louise Parent & John Casaly Thomas A. Paulo Liz Pearson Barbara Paul Robinson Julia Romano Rosalind Rosenberg Thomas Russo & Georgina Russo Susan L. Sack Susan J. Schwartz Dagni Senzel Mr. & Mrs. Warren L. Serenbetz Alexandra M. Sewell David Shack & Gail Landis Jeff Sholeen Joel A. Shulman Mr. Edward J. Silverman & Ms. Amy L. Dombro Joanna Smith Laurence T. Sorkin Friends of St. Catherine's Park, Inc. Tupper W. Thomas Coralie S. Toevs RuthAnne Visnauskas Sarah T. Wardwell Jessica Wells-Hasan Mr. Paul Willen Jessica Wurwarg Lori Zabar & Mark Mariscal Michael & Charlotte Zinder IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS Carter Ledyard & Milburn Pentagram Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP 56 DONORS OF UP TO $ ANNUAL REPORT 6

8 Great Parks Make a Great City NEW YORKERS FOR PARKS The Arthur Ross Center for Parks and Open Spaces 55 Broad Street, 23rd Floor New York, NY (212) New Yorkers for Parks is the citywide independent organization championing quality parks and open spaces for all New Yorkers in all neighborhoods. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edward C. Wallace, Chair Catherine Morrison Golden, Vice Chair Mark Hoenig, Secretary Elaine Allen, Treasurer Luis Garden Acosta Milovan Blair Dr. Roscoe Brown, Jr. Christian DiPalermo Margaret A. Doyle Audrey Feuerstein Paul Gottsegen Rick Gropper George J. Grumbach, Jr. Lynden B. Miller Elizabeth Propp Christopher Rizzo Joel Steinhaus Fern Thomas Virginia Veras Carmen Walker-Gay EMERITUS DIRECTORS Ann L. Buttenwieser, Ph.D Ellen Chesler Barbara S. Dixon Barbara Fife Richard Gilder Michael Grobstein Ira M. Millstein Philip Pitruzzello DIRECTORS COUNCIL Micaela Birmingham Elizabeth Greenstein Laura Hansen Kate Kerrigan Carol Loewenson Thomas Paulo Phyllis Reich Oliver Spellman Paul Willen John S. Winkleman STAFF Tupper Thomas, Executive Director Alyson Beha Jon Kornfeld Julia Marra Sam Mei Martha Rivas Lucy Robson Emily Walker Robin Weinstein James Yolles as of July 7, NEW YORKERS FOR PARKS