Public Employee Press

Taking our case to the City Council:
Mayor's plan would destroy parks

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS and ALFREDO ALVARADO



Members chanted "Save our Parks!" outside City Hall March 31, and union leaders blasted Mayor Bloomberg's plan to save $36 million by reducing full-time Parks workers to part-time seasonal employees and closing city pools two weeks early.

"These serious cuts would destroy our parks and hurt our communities," said Associate Director Henry Garrido at the DC 37 Parks Policy Committee's news conference.

The proposed 14 percent cut in the Parks Dept. budget would "hurt the city by devastating park maintenance and safety and slash the pay of hundreds of employees," Garrido said. "We demand that the mayor get his priorities in order and stop putting millionaires before working families!"

Unionists, parks advocates and City Council members Leticia James, Jimmy Van Bramer, Daniel Dromm, and Leroy Comrie spoke out against the cuts to the city's 1,700 parks, recreation centers and pools just as Bloomberg announced a $3 billion surplus in the city budget. Public parks are one of the city's jewels, generating an estimated $142 million in annual revenue from tourists and visitors. The pool closing would deprive millions of children access to public pools during summer's hottest weeks.

DC 37 leaders said the cuts disproportionately affect lower-income communities while parks in more affluent neighborhoods remain untouched. With 36 acres of green space, Battery Park City has 31 Parks Enforcement Patrol officers whose salaries are paid in part by the BPC Authority, while only 12 PEP officers are assigned to patrol the 6,800 acres of parkland in the Bronx, said Local 983 Vice President Joe Puleo.

By converting 500 full-time positions into six-month seasonal jobs, Garrido said, the city would sharply reduce the ranks of workers who maintain and patrol park grounds, keep public pools safe and teach youths at rec centers. While eliminating rank-and-file workers, Bloomberg has bloated Parks' management budget by $15 million to pay for 94 new, high-level positions - a 50 percent increase in managers since 2008.

"Shame on the Mayor"

Parks are the only "backyards" for many New Yorkers. But without appropriate funding they will fall into disrepair and severely diminish the quality of life for all residents, advocates and union leaders said.

Leaders of Parks Dept. union locals spoke at the press conference and testified against the cuts later at a City Council hearing.

"I represent 900 dedicated Parks workers. How will they tell their families and their landlords their salaries have been cut in half?" asked Local 1505 President Dilcy Benn, who chairs the DC 37 Parks Policy Committee. "If our salaries are cut, many of them will end up on public assistance. That is unacceptable, especially when the agency has been hiring so many highly paid managers."

Without these workers, she said, garbage won't be picked up, broken glass won't be swept up and benches won't be painted.

"Why design and build beautiful new parks if you cannot maintain them?" asked Local 375 Secretary Jon Forster.

"Shame on the mayor!" said Sirra Crippen, president of Gardeners Local 1507. "There are 140 of us to care for thousands of acres of parks from the Bronx to Brooklyn. We are overwhelmed. Who will be left to maintain trees and plant colorful flowers, or cut the grass?"

"Our Urban Park Rangers enforce safety and prevent crime," said Puleo. Crime in city parks is up 25 percent, and 50 percent in Central Park, he said, "and that coincides with the cuts in staff."

After last year's tornado, "Our Climbers and Pruners worked seven days a week for two months straight," said Local 1506 President John Huber. He explained that removal of dead trees for public safety is an all-year job, not seasonal work.

The mayor's proposed fee increases for using recreation centers are "another tax on a people who can least afford it," said Local 299 President Jackie Rowe-Adams. "Not everyone can afford a high-priced membership at an exclusive gym."

"Mr. Mayor, most New Yorkers can't go to the Hamptons or Bermuda. We go to public pools!" said Peter Stein, president of Lifeguard Supervisors Local 508. He called closing city pools early "irresponsible and callous."