From the Daily News:
A Queens lawmaker is in talks with the city to create a public-private alliance to fund the upkeep of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) said such an alliance could solicit donations from Queens residents and businesses for the borough’s 1,255-acre, flagship park.
It could also eventually seek a cut of the rent paid to the city by Citi Field and the U.S. Tennis Association, which are located in the park, she said.
“Flushing Meadows-Corona Park has not received the attention and resources it deserves,” Ferreras told the Daily News on Wednesday. “We get such a small percentage of the dollars that are generated by our park reinvested into our park.”
Geoffrey Croft, president of New York City Park Advocates, said if an alliance profits from the stadiums located within its perimeters, this could create an incentive to rent out more parkland to other private companies.
“It is the elected officials’ job to adequately fund public parks — not private businesses,” he said.
A city Parks Department spokesman said the idea is under serious consideration.
“Public-private partnerships create significant benefits for both parks and their visitors,” an agency spokesman said in a statement. “These partnerships, which exist in parks throughout the city, help to connect people, engage community members, provide programming, and keep parks clean and beautiful.”
A Queens lawmaker is in talks with the city to create a public-private alliance to fund the upkeep of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) said such an alliance could solicit donations from Queens residents and businesses for the borough’s 1,255-acre, flagship park.
It could also eventually seek a cut of the rent paid to the city by Citi Field and the U.S. Tennis Association, which are located in the park, she said.
“Flushing Meadows-Corona Park has not received the attention and resources it deserves,” Ferreras told the Daily News on Wednesday. “We get such a small percentage of the dollars that are generated by our park reinvested into our park.”
Geoffrey Croft, president of New York City Park Advocates, said if an alliance profits from the stadiums located within its perimeters, this could create an incentive to rent out more parkland to other private companies.
“It is the elected officials’ job to adequately fund public parks — not private businesses,” he said.
A city Parks Department spokesman said the idea is under serious consideration.
“Public-private partnerships create significant benefits for both parks and their visitors,” an agency spokesman said in a statement. “These partnerships, which exist in parks throughout the city, help to connect people, engage community members, provide programming, and keep parks clean and beautiful.”
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