New York City parks advocates are outraged over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s budget proposal, and plan to give him a piece of their mind on Monday.
On the campaign trail, Mamdani said he’d dedicate 1% of the city’s annual budget to the parks department, something that hasn’t happened since the 1970s. But his first budget proposal as mayor didn’t just fall short of that benchmark — it would actually reduce the amount of money for the department.
Mamdani’s preliminary budget dedicates $654 million to parks, down from the $687 million former Mayor Eric Adams signed off on last year. Mamdani's entire budget proposal is roughly $127 billion, which means he’d need to earmark about $1.2 billion for the parks department in order to fulfil his campaign pledge.
Parks advocates plan to hold a rally at City Hall on Monday ahead of a City Council hearing on the budget proposal, where they’ll essentially accuse the mayor of being a backslider.
“This budget locks in years of under investment and it's the status quo,” said Kathy Park Price, director of advocacy and policy for the group New Yorkers for Parks. “And the status quo for parks isn't working. This budget unfortunately keeps it that way.”
For years, advocates like Price have called for parks to get 1% of the city’s annual budget, only to see mayor after mayor turn to the department as a place to find cuts.
Adam Ganser, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks, said funding shortfalls lead to unshoveled pathways, bathrooms that aren’t opened on time, deferred tree maintenance and dirty conditions across the city’s green spaces.
“What we’ve seen over the last five, six, seven years, this lack of investment is catching up," he said. "If you’re not funding the agency, you’re going to see conditions worsening, and that’s what’s been happening.”
Jeremy Edwards, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said the $33 million reduction in the mayor’s budget from last year's was due to a one-time funding pool expiring.
"The mayor remains committed to achieving the 1% for parks pledge by the end of his mayoralty because affordability is about more than rent and groceries," Edwards said.
Edwards said the city could dedicate 1% of the budget to parks if we “tax the wealthiest among us” and “ensure corporations pay their fair share.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who must approve any state tax hike, has said she has no plans to increase taxes on wealthy New Yorkers.
Former Councilmember Sal Albanese said he’s seen other mayors promise and fail to reach the elusive 1% allocation.
“Every time we have a new mayor, they promise 1% and it never happens,” he said. “ I think we should stop making those promises that we don't plan on keeping them.”
