Public Employee Press

Training “summit” for Parks supervisors

Putting their 2,000 years of experience to work Oct. 3 and 10 at the Parks Department’s first “summit” sessions, the Uniformed Parks Supervisors of Local 1508 brainstormed ideas for the future of New York City’s 23,000 acres of parklands, beaches and green spaces.

“We are in the biggest period of Parks expansion since Robert Moses,” said Commissioner Adrian Benepe, speaking under a tent in the manicured gardens of historic Gracie Mansion. “New York City has become a model for urban park systems around the world. We’ve come a long way from the acute stress of the 1970s.”

Acknowledging that the city will see leaner times ahead, Benepe called on the Supervisors, who know the “nuts and bolts” of Parks operations to “think bigger and imagine ways the job can be done better.”

New York University professor and training facilitator Joseph McGee led the sessions, which were based in part on a survey showing that three out of every four Supervisors had been on the job 20 years or more. “Parks employees have an incredible amount of experience, so we wanted to tap that wealth of knowledge and include them in the process,” McGee said.

City parks improve
The summit was a forum for free thought. Gathered at tables with pads, pens and flip charts, participants focused on five critical areas: support for supervisors, support for operations, staff and staff retention, delivering the goods and parks of the future. The parkies were encouraged to talk about what works well and what aspects of Parks maintenance need improvement.

In recent years the agency has provided new trucks and equipment, implemented a Jobs Training Program and increased its capital projects so parks with greenery and flowers bloom in almost every community in the five boroughs. These parks, said longtime employees, are not just pretty, they are clean, thanks to the staff under their supervision, including Gardeners and Assistant Gardeners, Tree Pruners, Parks Service Workers, Debris Removers and JTPs — all members of DC 37.

The Supervisors said they would like to play a bigger role in planning capital projects to avoid costly mistakes that delay projects.

“The agency wants to make sure we have the tools to get the job done,” said Local 1508 President Mike Zeno. “This is our opportunity to have positive input on daily operations and to develop future leaders.”

— Diane S. Williams