Strike a Chord: Neighborhood Parks

Neighborhood parks are the focal point of many communities.  Kids frolic in playgrounds, people read on shaded benches, or simply meet and converse with their neighbors. 

As part of WFUV's Strike a Chord campaign, WFUV is focusing its attention on neighborhood parks, including the people who help keep them vibrant.   Reporter Sarah Reynolds put together this series of reports.  Look for the audio below.

Fourteen percent of New York City's total land area is parkland run by the city's Parks Department, but that doesn't mean all New Yorkers have easy access to a green park.  The advocacy group, New Yorkers for Parks, has created a tool to help communities identify and advocate for their neighborhood parks.

On any given weekend around New York City, farmers can be found in public parks, selling everything from meat to mushrooms they've trucked from their farms in nearby counties.  Parks are valuable venues for those who make the weekly trip into the city to sell their harvest.

Every year, the group New Yorkers for Parks holds a Park Advocacy Day.  Advocates from neighborhoods around the city attend to learn how to better argue their needs for green space.  Some have complaints about their parks, and some just want more park space.

Forty percent of New York City's population is foreign born and in many ways immigrant communities are isolated from each other and from native New Yorkers.  The Immigrants and Parks Collaborative is trying to change that through public parks.  Two city-wide groups, Partnerships for Parks and the New York Immigration Coalition, have come together to make this happen.

Nestled in the Upper East Side of Manhattan along the Harlem River is a 5-acre park called Swindler Cove.  It's a habitat for migratory birds and home to a garden for its neighbor, P.S. 5.  But, it wasn't always an oasis.  Just over 10 years ago, the park was an illegal dumping ground.