City Parks Foundation
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The City Parks Foundation is the only independent, nonprofit organization to offer programs in parks throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The organization works in over 750 parks citywide, presenting a broad range of free arts, sports, and education programs.[1] Founded in 1989, it is one of the oldest and largest citywide parks organizations in the country.
Programs offered by City Parks Foundation include free performing arts festivals such as Central Park SummerStage and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, which take place annually each summer in parks across all five boroughs of New York City. Sports programs include free instruction for city youth with CityParks Tennis, CityParks Golf, CityParks Track & Field, and the first of its kind, Junior Golf Center located adjacent to the Dyker Beach Public Golf Course in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and CityParks Seniors Fitness.
CityParks Education offers several educational programs turning parks into classrooms, reaching over 7,000 students and community members and 500 teachers each year. Programs include Coastal Classroom, Green Girls, CityParks Productions, Learning Gardens, and Seeds to Trees.
The City Parks Foundation partners with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation through initiatives such as Partnerships for Parks, a joint program that works to start, strengthen, and support neighborhood park groups. The initiative provides workshops, small grants, organization development, and problem solving to aid local efforts to revitalize parks and the communities that surround them. According to NYC Parks, the Foundation offers free, park-based programs in arts, sports, and education, reaching over 600,000 children and adults throughout New York City each year.[2]
History
[edit]In 2009, during what Reuters described as "the worst recession in some 70 years," the City Parks Foundation saw attendance at its free events rise by 20 to 30 percent, even as fundraising declined by about 20 percent. According to its executive director, the foundation dipped into its endowment to maintain programming and meet demand, particularly for free youth sports programs as many parents could not afford summer camps.[3]
In 2018, the New York Times reported that the City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage festival featured free performances by Big Daddy Kane, Talib Kweli, Pete Rock, and The Lox as part of a lineup celebrating hip-hop’s legacy, with over 100 free shows across the five boroughs in genres including pop, opera, jazz, and dance.[4]
The foundation celebrated its 30th anniversary with a gala in Central Park in September 2019.[5]
During the 2023 season, SummerStage presented nearly 80 performances in 13 city parks, including sets by Tanya Tucker, Grandmaster Flash, and Monie Love.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "City Parks Foundation". cityparksfoundation.org.
- ^ "Joining Community Groups Involved with Parks". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Free music, sports events popular amid recession". Reuters. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "SummerStage Will Celebrate Hip-Hop's Past". The New York Times. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "A Night at the Ballet". The New York Times. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "How the Artistic Director at SummerStage Spends Her Sundays". The New York Times. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
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