Are Parks for Strolling or Sports? In New York, It’s Complicated.

Being an 18 year old soccer player in NYC is hard enough but imagine coming from a poor neighborhood? Me and my boys would link up every weekend to play but the closest valid soccer field is pier 40 so we hop the train and play some pickup games. But even then there is alright a team that has a permit so we can't play. "Why don't you tryout?" We already hop the train, what makes ya think we can afford to play for a team? There is so much talent that is overlooked because we can't afford it. Growing up in upper side manhattan we would hear about schools like MLK and see them as the only opportunity to even get the chance of succeeding. I just hope one day the system can favor the talent over the money.

The real story here is that 85% of the sports field permits are secured for the predominantly white private, school students. So unequal are the permit distributions that on any given weekday between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM, especially on Randall’s Island, there is a feel of the “Jim Crow” days of the south. The rich have bought favored status with City Government and the Parks Commission. There is a system in place to secure athletic fields, a system that gives public schools priority, a priority that the PSAL chooses to ignore. Pay-for-play between the private and public sectors has become common practice. Past news articles linked below point to the Bloomberg Administrations relationship with the wealthy private sector as the cause. The State Supreme Court ruled twice that pay-for-play violated our laws and procedures. Now, 11 years later, the private sector, funded by taxpayer dollars, has exclusive access to the majority of sports field permits, especially Randall's Island. The NYS Association of Independent Schools, established by the wealthy private sector, has made Randall's Island their home. Many of these private schools even advertise the exclusive use of these fields as their own. The conflict of interest with Randall’s Island Park Alliance and the NYC Parks Commission should be a cause of deep concern for City Council and the people of New York who are funding the NYC Parks for the rich. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/nyregion/14randalls.html

I believe it was Marie Antoinette who said, "Let them play stick ball."

In the midst of a housing supply crisis, we're building massive empty fields so richy rich can kick his way to a soccer scholarship?

We should really start to look at the feasibility of converting the green roof on the Javits Center into an outdoor rec center with half a dozen fields.

Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have a right to play. The United States has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), but is the only United Nations member state that is not a party to it. So I guess this debate is typical for a country that doesn't really care about the basic rights of children. It's all about how to make money, right?

New York is quite simply not a place for children. It simply isn't.

Hey, you really missed the story! The City Council is voting this Tuesday and Thursday about demolishing the entire East River Park over the next 5+ years. And this will impact playing time! But that’s just a fraction of the negative impacts on the community. Where’s your story on this? It’s almost too late, as it may be a done deal by Thursday, despite community efforts to be heard and to stop the city from railroading its destructive plan through, ignoring the four years of community work on the issue that came before... Two community organizations trying to SAVE EAST RIVER PARK: http://eastriverparkaction.org/ https://eastriveralliance.org/ News reports in Curbed, City Limits, The Villager, Lo-Down, etc.

And, exactly WHY would kids need 24 hour access to a ballfield? If adults want to play organized sports, they can pay for their own fields. Jocks are not a huge percentage of the youth population. Plenty more kids would like to fly a kite, roll on the grass, look at bugs and clouds, none of which is available in highly organized, disciplined team sports, where too often parents and other adults are just trying to relive their fantasies of youthful athletic prowess.

Not much in this article evaluating the scope of the problem relative to the scope of the potential solutions. The rendering of the Gansevoort park appears to show a single soccer field. Put another way, at any given time, it will serve 22 New Yorkers. (This number may be a bit highers if the field is divided up in two baseball fields or multiple soccer fields for younger kids but the number remains low once permits are allocated.) This is by no means to dismiss these plans. They can be valuable. But they will not really solve anything. You could implement every new proposal in this article and then still write the same article.

If we have any hope of keeping the middle class in the city - those who have kids, send their kids to public schools, and rent apartments without back yards - we must plan our parks and open space in such a way to allow for kids to play team sports. Period. This means lots and lots of open space to compensate for the increasingly oppressive density, and lots of playing fields as part of that goal. I coached softball teams (yes, even coached young Chiara deBlasio back in 2000), I can tell you there is no field available for practices and the only way to secure game time is to be part of a large league and even then, there is a time limit for games (we had to throw several because we ran overtime and there were other teams waiting to play). It is time the city fessed up to this crisis and stop planning a city for wealthy single people who want to promenade and not play in our open space. We can and must do both, but turn our focus to child's play first and foremost.

With kids everywhere spending too many hours on screen, leading to social isolation, obesity and anxiety, let's try to prioritise giving decent public parks where they can play sports and hang out. Society is the better for it and we need to invest in ways that give young people opportunities to engage with their communities and develop their talents.

Lived in queens and nyc for almost 40 years. That's life in the city. Want access to more fields, move to the suburbs. Cant have your cake and eat it too. Cant have all the amenities of the city and all the amenities of the suburbs at the same time. You can want it, even demand it. Feel you have a "right" to it. And that would just make you a spoiled, privileged and entitled city person.

Wouldn't help Manhattan but it's too bad the city can't build some fields over the BQE in Carroll Gardens, essentially just turning that stretch of highway into a tunnel while creating additional green space.

Leta hope they’ll include a pedestrian overpass to accompany this new park. Not including plans for how people (kids) will reasonably cross the highway to use these great spaces is a big oversight of many of these wonderful waterfront projects. It causes hazard for pedestrians and slowdowns for cars who stop for unneeded traffic lights. Let’s come up with a plan to access these spaces while we’re building them.

This is the craziness of living in a huge city. Real estate is at a premium and there are plenty of developers who want to put buildings on every square inch. Schools without fields for sports? Insanity! Where I live, and this goes for all of PA except possibly Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, every school has space for outdoor sports and phys ed. Every high school has large areas of playing fields and many, if not most, have stadiums. In a city that doesn't even have enough fields for its schools, recreational teams should not be able to use public space for their practices and games. If they are able to use the fields that exist, they should be paying a hefty rental fee. Children should be able to play on school teams and on public spaces, if they don't have their own fields. And developers should be required to leave the open spaces used by schools as they are, not fill them with buildings. I know most NYC residents have jobs there and/or love the city life. If you're not chained to your job and are willing to change your lifestyle, please consider moving to a small town or rural area. Your children will grow up happier and healthier. You won't have as much stress and will probably be a lot more relaxed. Of course, you'll have to learn to go without 24/7 convenience and stimulation. Who knows? You might learn to enjoy peace and quiet.

Why is it either or? Are we so delicate these days we have to have controversy and hurt feelings over every issue?

The city could use a new Robert Moses before he was totally corrupted by power as parks commissioner.

Your article forgot to mention that the park along the East River in the Lower Eastside will be close soon by the city, Leaving even less space for the kids to play their games.

Under our current administration and city council it seems to me that our parks are for doing drugs, using as a restroom and sleeping accommodations for the homeless.

Two suggestions: Maybe for exercise the kids in Manhattan could climb the Shwarma in Hudson Yards. That way the ridiculous waste of money won't be completely useless. Or they could get some fresh air hauling bricks for Barry Diller's new island/ mausoleum being built in the Hudson River.

Whatever sells square feet and SUVs. Death of the planet. Death of the planet.

Times have changed. Kids no longer go out and play alone any more. Grab a glove or a ball and find kids to play with. Then along come developers, but you can't blame them with Everyone wanting to live on the island called Manhattan. I remember 50 years ago working in the financial district on a saturday, other than some tourist walking around it was a ghost town. Today there are as many Residential buildings there as office buildings. Maybe one day there will be a Parks museum to show kids what it was like in the old days.

Could the roofs of large school buildings be turned into athletic fields (when properly fenced in, of course.)

I understand the concerns of families with school age children. But no amount of wishing, negotiation, artful re-design of public spaces (spaces for *all* the public) is going to turn Manhattan into suburbia. Running and playing in open spaces IS one of the losses (trade-offs?) one endures for all the other cultural benefits of the city.

Lower Manhattan's playing field deficit was made worse by the decision to cover six ball fields on Governors Island with construction waste from the 2nd Ave. Subway to create hills to enhance the views of the harbor. There were no better views of the Harbor than from Governors Island - before the debris was dumped on the fields. The hills are follies that destroyed much needed active recreation facilities for lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn youth groups. I'm not sure who did the environmental impact assessment but it should've taken into account the effect that the destruction of these ballfields would have on active recreation opportunities in the surrounding communities. I'm almost certain that the sports leagues in lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn were not made aware of the impact that The Trust for Governors Island's decision would have on their quality of life or given an opportunity to speak out on behalf of protecting the fields. Poor public process can often lead to substandard projects that do not maximize benefits to the public.

The irony is that within 3 blocks of the Morton Street school are: (1) Pier 40, which is an amazing amenity but needs literally tens of millions of dollar of work so that it doesn't collapse into the Hudson. It is used constantly and yet there is even more demand for it that cannot be accomodated. (2) JJ Walker ballfield, which is used constantly and yet there is even more demand for it that cannot be accomodated. And... (4) A large empty lot on Clarkson St., where the city's water tunnel construction was completed several years ago. It is sitting there, fallow, with I'm sure multiple constituencies (including private real estate interests) needily and greedily eyeing it. New York City kids need fresh air, exercise, and fun in their lives. Come to think of it, they DESERVE it.

great piece on how NYC parks are a centerpiece of NY. It would have been nice to include a paragraph or two on the history of how these parks came about and who was responsible for many of the parks we have to, think someone with the initials RM comes to mind

I notice one of the photos is of an NYU team using a public field. This should not be permitted, since the University owns plenty of real estate on which it could opt to build fields for its teams. For example, NYU is currently building a 30-story, mixed-use facility on land that for many years housed ball fields and playgrounds and then later, a gym with ten tennis courts on its roof. This building is within walking distance of the Morton Street middle school.

Meanwhile the cruel plan to close and bury the Lower East Side parks for years, cutting down the almost 900 mature shade trees, some of which are almost centurions, so as not to inconvenience the FDR in creating a berm against future flooding is being rammed through against the community's wishes. The newly renovated track is world class and constantly used along with the numerous playing fields and tennis courts, filled with school teams and locals. They say three years and we get a "World class park." It already is, just a little scrappy from a far more minimal maintenance plan, unlike the wealthier west side parks. There is certainly mischief afoot here since the original plan was to keep the precious trees with their natural cooling canopy and the fields for all the schools by shutting parts of the FDR at night to build a berm under it. However, that solid plan was mysteriously scrapped last spring in favor of protecting the traffic (reinforcing what we all know that "congestion pricing" is just about pricing) and taking the busy fields and mini forests from the people with the least resources. Sure, we will get another generic designer park with ornamental grasses and trees that will take many generations to protect the residents, but where will all the schools, teams and athletes go to train and play? Where are the lawyers for the less fortunate and ignored LES residents? This land grab is a crime.

(continued) These 'parks' could make money ... When not needed for sports people could pay to use the fields for ' a day on the water' ... get on at 9 am, by 11 a tug tows barge up the Hudson slowly, perhaps as far north as the GW bridge, maybe further ... tarry in Tarrytown ... Vendors sell refreshments ... gender neutral bathrooms ... maybe circle the city ... Sun bathing at it's finest !

This sounds crazy but .... What about building a few 'mobile' fields? Yes ... Find some unused barges or build from scratch big enough and/or connect a few to create a field large enough for football, soccer, even baseball (a home run is in the river) Hire tugboats to move them round ...My sense is that tug workers are underemployed but if not, this could be yet another 'growth' profession. Parks will have built in solar-wind- generated lighting etc Schedule the use of parks to maximize efficiency ... Yet another unique article of technology created by the unique conditions of New York City... When in doubt ... create ! Financing? Investment by schools, the city, and federal green energy tax abatements which will return after 'Mr. 50's' criminal Trump is gone.

There are a number of easy tactics which could be used to improve the availability of field space. We should pursue the easy solutions first, then worry about a couple new parks which will have minimal impact on total available playfields. 1) Ensure the price is high enough. I've played an entire softball season scheduled after a philanthropic police organization, which never used the field. Parks officials should ensure the fields are used, and make the reservation price high enough that fields are not reserved and unused. 2) More illumination. Many fields have very limited play time because they do not have lights. Fall and Spring in particular have a very short crunch time before darkness makes fields unplayable. As an example, not a single ball field in central park has lights. Extending the play time with lights gives everyone more field time. 3) Better scheduling of renovations and work. Due to multiple groups simultaneously requesting turf renovations, several fields were shut down in 2019 for repairs. This uncoordinated mayhem significantly decreases available softball field space across Manhattan. Smarter cross Manhattan planning would have staged the repairs over time.

I wonder what the total demand for fields looks like - sport, age range, frequency and length of time for field use, time slot required (afternoon, evening, weekend) and location of field (specific neighborhood, range of travel, borough or unrestricted). NYC schools often have limited outdoors facilities yet the article says permits for these schools have been cut back. Perhaps there should be an official 'priority' list. It would seem that high school sports should have priority but does flag football rate the same as school soccer or baseball? Right now it seems that a first-come, first serve, informal allocation system exists. A thorough analysis of demand and availability could better allocate available fields in a way that maximizes usage. Frankly you have a lot of younger kids playing sports because their parents want them to. Most quit these youth leagues within a few years. I wonder if these leagues are really needed since a good number of these kids are ambivalent at best about participating. Perhaps these leagues under a certain age could practice and play less often

I know from my neighbor who coaches a girls softball team that it’s hard to find a field (here in the Bronx) that is not used entirely by boys teams.

Can or does the Parks Dept give priority to public school teams? Schools paid for by taxes, parks, ditto, clear connection between lack of phys Ed facilities and time and need for students to utilize green space. Public school and police or other public leagues first! Yes it is a class issue, whether the competing interests are the “pay to play” soccer and baseball leagues (ironically a sign of success of middle class an upper middle class families raising kids in NYC) or the boutique park seekers. Those last are the hardest to refuse, due to money and influence. But they should be last on the priority list. Like the supply of old warehouses, SROs and empty lots, the supply of park spots may have run out for now - or moved out to Long Island City and beyond. Leave the kids a green place to play, for goodness sake.

I noticed the photos in this article are of East River Park, which is slated for demolition next year. When that happens, people will truly be suffering from lack of green space and recreational areas. East River Park currently has a uniquely community-oriented mix of recreational and natural areas where one can play ball or observe migratory bird species or fish or bicycle or plant bulbs and weed or picnic....

East River Park with its many heavily used ball fields, is slated for demolition starting in 2020. Just over 40 percent of the park will be open during the five years of construction. (That's a scheduled five years--knowing how park construction goes, it's likely to many more years.) A better flood control plan that would preserve and keep open the park and not destroy existing fields (including a new $3.5 million running track and sports field) and not kill the 1,000 mature trees has been rejected in favor of this East Side Coastal Resiliency project. The current $1.45 billion devastating plan is racing through the City Council. The Land Use Committee will vote on it Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 10:00. The full City Council will take it up Nov. 14 at 1:30. For sports, for recreation, for air cleansed by the magic of trees, for our Lower East Side/East Village neighborhood, please tell your City Council members to vote NO!

NYC students need park space and playing fields, no question. Green space should not be going to benefit luxury real estate/tourist/entertainment But the larger issue that needs close scrutiny and media coverage is park inequality... The boroughs and low income areas need more green space. But tons of money and public resources (including "not-for-profits" run for the wealthy) continue to go into luxury green space and entertainment/amenities that benefit affluent areas in Manhattan, luxury real estate interests, and tourists - examples include the Diller pier, Hudson Rver Park, the greenway on the West Side south of 72nd Street and others. Governor's Island, though for "all" is most easily accessible to wealthy of lower Manhattan and tons of money to build amenities. Or the pending plan to develop a beach in lower Manhattan near luxury real estate, though clearly there is no "need" for a beach.

Parks that are "high-end"? You mean featuring trees and shrubbery? I don't call that high-end. I call it a park, where people can stroll and sit and let their little kids run about. Where no matter how old or young they are, they can breathe fresh-mown grass and the fresher oxygen trees provide, and learn to love flowers. Instead of, you know, asphalt. Or artificial turf. Young men like to play ball, of course. They want asphalt. But do not make this into a class issue. It's a usage issue.