Council Member Ty Hankerson, Chair of the Parks & Recreation Committee, speaks against budget cuts. ( Photo: Brian Berger) Advocates Flay Mamdani over Proposed Parks Department Budget Cuts Scores of advocates braved a cold light rain to stand on the steps of City Hall on Monday March 23 and alternately flay and... News 30 Mar 2026 | 09:23
The playground inside St. Nicholas Park on West. 133rd St. is to get a complete makeover. ( Photo: NYC Parks Dept. ) Harlem Playground Dodges Parks Cuts, Set for Big Makeover The Parks Department funds may be under pressure as Mayor Zohran Mamdani looks to balance the budget next fiscal year, but... News 27 Mar 2026 | 05:54
Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Tricia Shimamura on High Bridge in the Bronx. ( Photo: Kara McCurdy/Mayor’s Photo Office.) Shimamura Rising: Manhattan Boss Parkie Named NYC Parks Commissioner Manhattan parks watchers got a welcome surprise on Saturday January 17, when Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the appointment... News 26 Jan 2026 | 09:43
A view of the current “splash zone” and built-in stream at River Run Playground, off West 82nd Street. The park was set to lose the river during a proposed overhaul, but community rage has forced the city to reverse course. ( Photo: NYC Parks Department) ‘River’ to Remain at River Run Playground After All: Parks River Run Playground, a beloved community space located off West 82nd Street, was set to lose its centerpiece stream during... News 26 Dec 2025 | 05:08
Left: Parade over the Corlears Hook Park Bridge. Right: East River Park amphitheater, a work in progress. ( Photos: Friends of Corlears Hook Park; Brian Berger) That New Corlears Hook Bridge to East River Park? Wow! It might not be the yellow brick road, but the paths to and from the new Corlears Hook Park Bridge to the East River Park... News 05 Oct 2025 | 04:35
One of two “Resonating Bodies” by British sculptor Tony Cragg. ( Photo: Brian Berger) Newly Raised Wagner Park Reopens, Lower Manhattanites Rejoice! More than two years after it was closed, in March 2023, as part of the Southern Battery Resiliency Project, a redesigned... News 04 Aug 2025 | 10:22
A pollutant-absorbing mural called “Botanical Pulse” now graces a building abutting Hell’s Kitchen Park. ( Photo: Jack Ahern ) Massive Pollution-Absorbing Mural Comes to Hell’s Kitchen Park An enormous mural depicting blooming plant life now graces Hell’s Kitchen Park, located between W. 47th & 48th Sts. on 10th... News 03 Jun 2025 | 05:30
Left: Our Lady of Sorrows’ Mets Little League coach. Right: Woman shooting baskets next to the highway. ( Photos: Brian Berger) East River Park Reopens to High Praise & Some Concerns It’s real, it’s beautiful, mostly, and it’s LOUD, in parts, most definitely, if not deafeningly. Say what?! Hold on, let’s... News 02 Jun 2025 | 12:30
Left: BP Mark Levine, CB1 Chair Tammy Meltzer, Council Members Keith Powers and Christopher Marte; Right: ticket vendors “guarding” the entrance to Battery Park and Castle Clinton at the Bowling Green subway stop. ( Photo: Brian Berger) City Council Members Marte & Powers Propose to Stop Tourist Ferry Ticket Scams Call it “the crackdown in Battery Park.” That’s the hope anyway, in the wake of legislation announced by Council Members... News 25 May 2025 | 08:45
“Ticket agent” offers two women “assistance” near Bowling Green. March 2025. ( Photo: Brian Berger) Beware! Battery Park Tourist Scammers Persist Despite Years of Complaints & Warnings Let’s call it Anarchy in Battery Park. That’s the impression a visitor gets as they traverse this historic jewel of lower... News 28 Mar 2025 | 05:06
The Hudson River Park Trust has completed a $47.5 million renovation of Pier 97, which opened to the public on October 15. ( Photo: Hudson River Park ) Pier 97 Opens Near W. 57th St. After $47.5 Mil Renovation Pier 97, famous for being featured in the opening scene of the seedy Martin Scorsese film Taxi Driver, has been renovated... News 17 Oct 2024 | 03:11
Asphalt Green spearheaded a new “Wave Makers” program, teaching 2,000 second-graders throughout NYC how to swim at various facilities across the city. It’s been up and running since June. But a city wide program championed by UES Council Member Julie Menin to give free swimming lessons to all 70,000 second graders in public schools during the school year, remains unfunded. ( Photo: Asphalt Green) No Funding for Second Grade Swim Program for Second Year in Row Public youth swimming lessons across the city have been in shambles since before the pandemic. In September 2023, it seemed... News 03 Jul 2024 | 01:53
The newly restored Joan of Arc statue in all its glory, no longer weathered by a century of vandalism and environmental damage is back inside Riverside Park. ( Photo: Municipal Art Society of New York) After a $23G Overhaul, the First Statue of a Woman in a NYC Public Park Is Restored on UWS The first statue of a woman in a New York City public park was restored and unveiled on May 18 inside Riverside Park, depicting... News 05 Jun 2024 | 01:45
Summer on The Hudson in 2023 will stretch from 59th St. to 181st St on the UES thanks to increased funding. ( (Riverside Park Conservancy)) Summer On The Hudson Returns With 300 Events, Stretching into Northern Portion of 6-Mile Long Park on West Side Summer on the Hudson is back this year offering the largest-ever season to date. The outdoor arts and culture festival now... News 22 Apr 2024 | 05:45
Under the $8.6 million overhaul proposed by the Parks Dept., the playground’s longstanding fiberglass dinosaurs will be replaced with new “identical” ones. ( Photo via NYC Parks Dept.) Dino Playground in Riverside Park Gets Thumbs up on $8.6 Million Overhaul The proposed $8.6 million overhaul of Riverside Park’s Dinosaur Playground received another boost on Tuesday, Jan. 16, as... News 31 Jan 2024 | 02:22
