NEWS
Concession Reform, Why It Matters
Beginning with the Giuliani administration, the Mayor’s office has pressured Parks to produce income through its concessions. This year, the city expects to collect $82.7 million from concessions operated on park property, recreational permits, and stadium rentals. Concessions are commercial ventures operating on public land, so at the very least, the park where the concession is located should derive some direct benefit. However, there’s no direct benefit to parks except in a few cases where a contract has been negotiated between a powerful park conservancy group and the Mayor’s office.
Friends of DHP will continue to advocate more transparency with regard to how concessions on public land are awarded and call for a better deal for our municipal parks. The city awards concessions through a bid process conducted by the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR).
In 2006, we sued DPR for the arbitrary manner in which it awarded the café concession for Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, but the judge ruled that our group had no standing because we weren’t a bidder and, thus, could claim no injury. Our organization provides most of the maintenance for Dag Hammarskjold Plaza yet we have “no standing.” If we cry foul, we’re legally relegated to the status of disenfranchised miscreants.
The Partnership Model, Unsustainable as Practiced
We entered into our association with DPR through its Partnership for Parks program, which calls on the dedication of park lovers to voluntarily look after local parks. But the partnership, as it stands, puts the burden of upkeep on the community while DPR retains administrative control. The more powerful nonprofits like Central Park Conservancy, Bryant Park, and Madison Square Park have negotiated contracts between DPR and their organizations which define their relationship and responsibilities. Otherwise, it’s a loosely defined arrangement.
Since Dag Hammarskjold Plaza was reopened to the public in 1999, we have provided park upkeep and beautification under the Partnership for Parks model, and now we know its limitations. It’s unsustainable. Our directors serve as unpaid managers with no staff, entering into contracts with maintenance services and supervising volunteers to do work which DPR should provide.
Volunteers are a great asset but no substitute for professionally trained park workers. The most effective conservancies are those with paid staffs who have, through their contracts with the city, assumed a large degree of administrative control. Although most neighborhood park groups lack the resources to marshal the professional expertise and fundraising capability of the big conservancies, DPR continues to hold up Central Park and Bryant Park as models to emulate.
What Would Make the Partnership Work?
For our part, we would like to see our Partnership with Parks evolve into a relationship in which DPR provides the essential services leaving Friends to focus on enhancements like park beautification and programming. That’s how DPR characterizes the Partnership, but it’s not the reality. Whenever we ask Parks to take on certain maintenance tasks, the answer is predictable: insufficient manpower—can’t you raise more money? Which brings us back to concession reform: let the funds from concessions on public parkland provide a direct benefit to our parks and make the process of awarding bids more transparent.
In 2007, pressured by complaints from hundreds of park and community associations with continual nagging from Friends of DHP, City Council conduced a public hearing on Concession Reform. The time devoted to DPR’s testimony left little time for the community to speak. City Council promised more hearings on the subject and we intend to hold them to their word. As long as we’re providing essential park services, we want official recognition and participation in administrative decisions that impact on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza.
Most neighborhood park groups lack the resources to marshal the professional expertise and fundraising capability of the big conservancies, yet the Parks Department continues to hold up Central Park and Bryant Park as models to emulate.
Whenever we ask Parks to take on certain maintenance tasks, the answer is predictable: insufficient manpower—can’t you raise more money?
Which brings us back to concession reform: let the funds from concessions on public parkland provide a direct benefit to our parks and make the process of awarding bids more transparent.
As long as we’re providing essential park services, we want official recognition and participation in administrative decisions that impact on Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. In short, a "quid pro quo."
DAG HAMMARSKJOLD PLAZA
Gateway to the United Nations
East 47th Street @ 1st & 2nd Ave.
New York, New York
Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza ~ 224 East 47th St, Suite 339 ~ New York , NY 10017 tel 212-826-8980
