Show Notes
Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn. This episode captures the memories of New York City Parks Department members as they recall the time period of social unrest during the COVID-19 crisis. Calls for social justice followed the deaths of Breonna Taylor in March 2020 in Louisville and George Floyd in May 2020 in Minneapolis. During the first wave of the pandemic, nationwide protests took place, with many turning to NYC Parks properties to make their voices heard. During this time the agency response included listening sessions with staff to hear their stories, and a program to rename Parks’ properties to honor and remember Black history.
Today our guests recall the era of social unrest in New York, and the groundswell of the social justice movement that often starts and ends on parkland. Our guests today are:
Former NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver;
Assistant Commissioner for Community Outreach and Partnership Development Karina Smith;
Urban Park Ranger Woo Sung Park;
Van Cortlandt Park Administrator Stephanie Ehrlich.
We record our shows in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at McCarren Park Play Center in the Media Education Lab. Our team is using the Media Lab and Parks volunteers to share our history with listeners, presenting some of the more than 100 oral history interviews conducted with Parkies.
More from NYC Parks Covid Oral History
During this 12-episode podcast series NYC Parks has looked at the COVID-19 era of 2020-2021 through the lens of interviews conducted during the Oral History Project in 2022. For the first 11 shows we highlighted some of the more than 100 Parkies that volunteered to tell their stories. For our final show, we welcome Commissioner Sue Donoghue to the podcast studio to tell us her views on the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation today, and how the Agency stands in the wake of the pandemic.
Sept. 29, 2020. On this episode we are focusing on one topic: trees. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NYC Parks teams that work to preserve the green spaces of New York faced challenges of working during the crisis, just like all of us. There also was a destructive windstorm that demolished thousands of trees, that added to the incredible workload. By focusing on this one area of the Parks Department, we will learn more about the work that continues today on our urban forest.
Madison Square Park, April 14, 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic the Parks Department leaned on its team on the frontlines extra hard to keep parks clean and green for the public to enjoy. This is a good opportunity to learn more about the agency’s workforce, in particular to shine a light on the Parks Opportunity Program. This gives entry-level workers jobs, as well opportunities for education, personal growth, and advancement in the workforce.
Hunts Point Recreation Center. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest challenges facing New York City was food insecurity. As the scale of the pandemic grew, the City of New York turned to NYC Parks. This was the Get Food New York City program. A robust food distribution program was run out of NYC Parks Recreation Centers for several months. It’s an incredible story of project planning, dedication, execution, and success. Ultimately Parks oversaw eight food distribution sites citywide. The totals over those months: 42 million meals distributed via taxi cabs and hired cars.
Going Green for Parkies, May 2021, Washington Square Arch. One of the most iconic parks in New York City is Washington Square Park, the jewel of Greenwich Village. During the COVID-19 outbreak, it was a focus for many, many visitors to the park. This was the scene of protests and big gatherings, but also continued to function as a much-needed place for respite. In this episode we go out of the studio and into the field to meet the Parkies who manage it, and listeners will be able to hear all of the Village sounds (and a thunderstorm) of a busy summer day in this beautiful spot.