This week marked the official start of autumn, a time when – here in the Northeast – we start to brace ourselves for the coming cold winter days and say goodbye to the hot summer sun. But these extreme seasons have only been getting more severe and erratic as the climate changes. It is perhaps only fitting that it is also “Climate Week” – an annual event when leaders from across the world and across all sectors gather to address this central issue of our times. 

Urban parks are critical to our climate response. Each parcel of city parkland has a significant impact on the local environment while also serving the larger web of resilience for our natural systems.

The cities where New City Parks (NCP) works are not just those where children and their families lack the nurturing benefits of open space, they are the same places that are disproportionately burdened by flash flooding during increasingly intense storms, heat island effects during ever hotter summers, and poor air quality.

The design decisions NCP makes in creating city parks are intended to repair these harms for residents today while ensuring greater resilience tomorrow. We analyze every park to maximize opportunities to:  

Design for 4th Street Parks in Mount Vernon, NY

~MITIGATE FLOODING AND REDUCE WATER POLLUTION: From adding rain gardens and bioswales to replacing asphalt with permeable surfaces that let water soak through, NCP’s current slate of projects stand to divert over 3 million gallons of water from overwhelmed sewer systems a year. The redirected water is filtered by soil, stones, trees, and plants – using nature to protect our streams, rivers, and reservoirs from contamination. 

~SUPPORT WILDLIFE: NCP park designs include gardens full of native flowers, grasses, and trees to provide food and shelter for precious pollinators like bees and butterflies, as well as birds and small mammals. This is increasingly important as wildlife face displacement as a result of warming temperatures.  

~LOWER LOCAL TEMPERATURES TO PROTECT HEALTH: Adding trees to parks helps cool our cities by providing shade and through the evaporation and transpiration of water back into the atmosphere. This is critical as rising temperatures present mounting risks for heat stroke and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths. City parks can be as much as 10°F cooler than surrounding neighborhoods where pavement and rooftops absorb, magnify, and release heat.

Bioswale and raingarden at Malcolm X Park.

(Photo courtesy of ScenicHudson.com)

~IMPROVE AIR QUALITY AND SEQUESTER CARBON: More than shade, trees in parks remove toxins from the air and sequester carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. NCP is on track to plant more than 550 new trees in our current projects! 

Parks are sometimes called the “leafy air conditioners” and the “green lungs” of cities. At NCP, we know that our parks are on the frontline at a critical time.  

Mayor Andre Sayegh speaks at Barbour Park

ribbon cutting ceremony on September 3rd in Paterson, NJ. (Photo by Emmanuel Thingue)

New City Parks kicked off September with the joyful opening of Barbour Park, our 6th completed park to date and our first project to reopen in Paterson, NJ!

Barbour Park, situated in Paterson’s Fourth Ward, serves as an incredible example of community organizing and activation. Seven years ago, a grassroots group of neighbors known as ‘Occupy Barbour Park’ started the hard work of cleaning up the park once derided as ‘Needle Park’. Through their tireless efforts Barbour once again became a place where children from the school across the street could play safely after the dismissal bell. However, even after families returned to the park, its infrastructure continued to deteriorate. NCP is proud to have partnered with the City of Paterson, Occupy Barbour, and other local groups to fully renovate the park. With new playground equipment and button-activated splash pad to cool off on hot summer days, Barbour Park is truly a child’s dream. But the park isn’t just for kids. With new seating, plantings, and grills, the park will serve as an anchor for community gatherings as well as a place to sit and commune with nature for people of all ages. 

Scenes from the reopened Barbour Park, Paterson, NJ. (Photos by Emmanuel Thingue)

Community leader and activist Roger “Gee” Grier, a member of ‘Occupy Barbour’ and a key facilitator for engaging the community during the design process, spoke about his experience working with NCP on the project, 

We can’t wait to see the rejuvenated space bustling with community!

This summer NCP launched a community ambassador program at two of our parks in Poughkeepsie, NY, in collaboration with our local partner Brain and Body Coalition. Each ambassador, a local community member, has been responsible for creating a safe, welcoming, and informative space within the parks all summer long. Keep reading to meet the ambassadors and hear a little bit about their experiences. 

NAME: Anthony Elting

PARK: Pershing Avenue Park

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FEATURE OF PERSHING AVENUE PARK? My favorite feature of the park is the garden, truthfully. I think that it gives an opportunity to some, to come and grow and plant crops which can help with feeding their family.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THIS SUMMER AT PERSHING AVENUE PARK? I would have to say my favorite memory of this summer, was I was able to help my community. I tried to give them a clean and safe environment to have. Especially for the children.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PARK MEMORIES FROM CHILDHOOD THAT INSPIRE YOUR WORK IN PERSHING AVENUE PARK? My childhood memories would have to be playing basketball, there was always games whether or not I played. Also just the usage of the park, there was always people there occupying the park.

NAME: Marcus Johnson

PARK: Malcolm X Park

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FEATURE OF MALCOLM X PARK? I love the basketball court, as well as the signs and information stations.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THIS SUMMER AT MALCOLM X PARK? Being a big brother to kids/young men that come to the park. It was nice to hearing how excited the kids would get when I would show up to the park. As well as hearing my name,” Unc” or “Coach” when I would walk into the park. These are memories I will never forget. 😁

DO YOU HAVE ANY PARK MEMORIES FROM CHILDHOOD THAT INSPIRE YOUR WORK IN MALCOLM X PARK? I remember walking/riding my bike to many of the parks in the area to play basketball with whoever was at the court at the time. Making friends while getting exercise. Between those memories and my love of people made it an easy choice!