Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura have officially launched the "Renew Crew", a rapid-response team of 24 trade specialists—including painters, plumbers, and electricians. Backed by a $2.3 million investment, the crew focuses on fast, highly visible upgrades to playgrounds, sports courts, and recreation centers across all five boroughs, as detailed by 6sqft. Bypassing lengthy capital project delays, the team tackles everyday repairs like repainting equipment, fixing fences, and replacing safety surfaces in three weeks or less. By swiftly restoring these vital amenities, the administration is transforming the park-goer experience and preserving essential city infrastructure.
#RenewCrew #ZohranMamdani #NYCParks #NewYorkCity #NYCPolitics #ParksAndRec #UrbanPlanning #CityInfrastructure #CommunityFirst #NYCMayor #FiveBoroughs #PlaygroundRepair #LocalGovernment #PublicSpaces #NYCNews
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#RenewCrew #ZohranMamdani #NYCParks #NewYorkCity #NYCPolitics #ParksAndRec #UrbanPlanning #CityInfrastructure #CommunityFirst #NYCMayor #FiveBoroughs #PlaygroundRepair #LocalGovernment #PublicSpaces #NYCNews
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NewsTranscript
00:00Here at Dry Harbor Playground, days are filled with the sound of sneakers on the basketball court,
00:06the crack of a bat on the baseball field, and kids perched on top of the ship's structure shouting,
00:11all hands on deck, which makes sense for a park called Dry Harbor.
00:16But even if that ship may have never set sail, it still has a captain, and every captain needs a
00:22crew.
00:23Today, that crew is here.
00:25Say hello to New York City's first ever Renew Crew.
00:34This is a team dedicated to transforming playgrounds, sports courts, and rec centers at parks across the five boroughs.
00:41The basketball hoop that is hanging on for dear life, the water fountain that has not worked since spring,
00:47or the fence that looks like it's about to give up entirely.
00:49If it is broken, this crew will fix it.
00:53The overgrown tennis court, the rusted swing set, the bench that needs a new coat of paint.
00:57If it is run down, this crew will renew it.
01:01No longer will New Yorkers have to wait months for city government to fix their parks and their playgrounds.
01:07The Renew Crew will show up, get the job done, and move on to the next location that needs them.
01:12This kind of efficiency is long overdue.
01:15Over the past 12 months alone, 311 has logged more than 5,000 complaints for the exact kind of work
01:23that this crew will tackle.
01:25Broken equipment, surfaces cracking underfoot, and fields overtaken by weeds.
01:30Our parks are the beating heart of the city, where families can relax together, where children can play, and where
01:37people can find peace amidst chaos.
01:38And we will not allow them to be neglected any longer.
01:42That is why we have invested $2.3 million to support the work of this team.
01:47With the Renew Crew and the fixes they will deliver, we will build on the work we have already done
01:51to bring public excellence to public spaces across our city.
01:55Since January, we have filled more than 191,000 potholes, cut the number of sidewalk sheds darkening our sidewalks by
02:02nearly 10%,
02:03and announced our plan to expand trash containerization to new districts in every borough,
02:09bringing more than 6,500 Empire bins from Woodside to Weeksville.
02:14That same urgency belongs in our playgrounds too.
02:17A bent backboard should not have to wait years for a fix.
02:21Starting this month, this very crew will be hard at work in parks across the five boroughs.
02:27Fort Fort Playground in the Bronx, American Playground in Brooklyn, Annunciation Playground in Manhattan,
02:33Old Town Playground in Staten Highland, and right here at Dry Harbor in Queens.
02:37That means a new safety surface, resurfaced basketball courts, a refurbished bocce court,
02:42and a fresh coat of paint on that very ship that the Renew Crew let me help with,
02:46and that they may or may not be correcting as I speak.
02:50And that work will not only continue, it will expand.
02:54To the workers of New York City Parks who are here with us today,
02:57thank you for all that you have already done to better our city,
03:01and all that you will do in the months and years to come.
03:04To the rest of New York, if you see something broken in your own park,
03:08do not hesitate to call 311.
03:11The days of those kinds of complaints collecting dust for months are no longer.
03:15And to every kid who's ever called themselves captain of that ship,
03:19or gotten a whole playground reopened like Maxime did for McKinley Park,
03:23now you have a crew of your own.
03:26All right.
03:30And now I would like to invite up Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimomura
03:34to say a few more words about this work.
03:39Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
03:41At New York City Parks, we know that the small things can make a big difference
03:46in how New Yorkers experience their neighborhoods and in their parks and their playgrounds.
03:51A fresh coat of paint, a repaired fence, a restored bench,
03:55these are the details that make a park feel cared for, feel safe, and welcoming.
04:00Renew Crew allows us to respond to those everyday needs faster
04:04and to make improvements that New Yorkers can feel and see.
04:08Our 24 skilled Renew Crew tradespeople will be out in our parks across all five boroughs
04:13from April through October,
04:15tackling projects and delivering results in three weeks or less.
04:19I'm so proud of the dedicated park staff who care for these spaces every day,
04:23and I'm excited for the New Yorkers to see the work of Renew Crew in action.
04:27Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this initiative possible,
04:31and most importantly, thank you to the New Yorkers who use and love our parks.
04:35This is about doing the work, doing it well,
04:38and making sure that New Yorkers can feel and see the difference.
04:41Thank you so much.
04:47Next, I'm thrilled to introduce our partners from New Yorkers for Parks,
04:51Kathy Parker-Price.
04:56Good morning.
04:57I'm Kathy Parker-Price with New Yorkers for Parks,
05:00and I'm also a parent.
05:01So I know the particular disappointment when you take your child to the playground
05:06and the chain on the tire swing is broken
05:09or the drinking fountain has been broken for months and it's a hot summer day.
05:17Those things can sound small on paper,
05:19but when it's your neighborhood park and you go every day,
05:23it's not a small thing.
05:24At New Yorkers for Parks,
05:26we fight for high-quality parks and open space
05:28for every New Yorker in every neighborhood,
05:32and that's why Renew Crew is so exciting.
05:35It focuses on the things that people actually experience every day.
05:40Playground equipment that needs fixing,
05:42fountains that need repairing,
05:44courts that need some love,
05:46and the basic infrastructure that tells you a park is cared for.
05:50In our advocacy,
05:51we highlighted the importance of getting these basics right,
05:55and we're excited to see that focus is reflected in Renew Crew.
05:59And it's part of real creativity and joy
06:03that Commissioner Shimomura has brought to our park system,
06:08from parents' night out and expanded sports hours
06:12to investments in playground associates and now Renew Crew.
06:17They're finding practical ways
06:20to make our parks work better for all New Yorkers.
06:24We applaud Mayor Mom Donnie and Commissioner Shimomura
06:28and the parks team for this initiative.
06:32And as the administration continues to build towards 1% for parks,
06:37we're excited about what greater investment will bring
06:40to our park system and make possible
06:44better maintenance and even more improvements
06:46in our parks across every neighborhood.
06:55I'm thrilled to introduce our next speaker,
06:57who is arguably one of the most important people here
07:00because we know that our park system are here to serve him
07:04and others like him.
07:05Just behind you, there are many children
07:06who are playing on the play equipment,
07:08and so we're so happy to always welcome kids into these spaces.
07:12Max, we'd love to have you join in the safety words.
07:19Hello, everyone.
07:21My name is Maxime, and I'm really happy to be here today.
07:24Thank you, Mayor Mom Donnie, for inviting me.
07:28I really appreciate it.
07:29Well, do you guys want to know how I ended up here?
07:33About two months ago, I recorded a video asking Mayor Mom Donnie
07:37to help open the playground in McKinley Park.
07:39It had been closed for almost two years, but guess what?
07:43A few weeks later, the park was finally open.
07:48So thank you, Mayor Mom Donnie and NYC Parks for hearing me out.
07:53I really appreciate it.
07:54I'm really passionate about parks being opened
07:57because kids need a safe and fun environment to play in.
08:01My parents always told me that my voice matters,
08:04and I want to thank them for believing in me
08:07and encouraging me to speak up.
08:08And I want other kids to know that your voice matters, too.
08:12If you see something that needs to be changed,
08:16never be afraid to speak up.
08:18Thank you to the Renew crew and every team member
08:21working hard to make New York City a better place to live.
08:24And thank you, Mayor Mom Donnie.
08:26Let's keep the New York City parks open for kids.
08:37Thank you so much, Max.
08:38We've got time for some questions about today's announcement.
08:41Before we go to the questions,
08:42can we have one more round of applause for Max Dume?
08:53Hello, everyone.
08:54Missed you.
08:57Yeah.
08:58Do we have any questions about today's announcement?
09:01Can I ask an off-topic, too?
09:03But if not...
09:04Okay.
09:05We'll go ahead to off-topics.
09:06We'll start with Katie Honan, who had the exclusive for today.
09:10It wasn't like I reported it out.
09:12You guys, thankfully, let me have an early look at it.
09:16I have two questions.
09:17The first is about, I know you were away for it,
09:19and I know it's a persistent issue,
09:20but with the Deputy Mayor of Operations here,
09:22the really bad flooding we saw, not too far from here,
09:25it was in Bushwick and other parts of the city and here in Queens.
09:29I know what we're up against with the sewers not being able to handle this much rain,
09:33but is there really nothing more that the city can do to help stop some of this flooding?
09:39I know we're supposed to clean up catch basins,
09:41but at a certain point, what more can the city do on that?
09:45And then I have a second question about the U.S. Open.
09:46I don't know if you want to hear it now or wait.
09:50Fighting off my curiosity.
09:52I'm going to go for the first question,
09:53and then we'll come back to your second one.
09:57This is one of the foremost priorities for our administration.
10:00Because as you said, yes, we know the facts of the context,
10:03which is that we have a sewage system that was built for the rainfall of a century ago,
10:07and that the climate crisis has intensified and increased that rainfall.
10:12And also, it is not going to be the case that we are simply going to sit on our hands
10:17until the day in which the sewage system is entirely overhauled.
10:20So we are exploring every single avenue that we have,
10:24whether it is from the installation of cloudburst technology,
10:27to the use of permeable pavement,
10:30to the question of floodable parks,
10:32parks that are actually built to absorb that kind of excess rainfall.
10:35I'll pass it over to our deputy mayor for operations to add some additional details.
10:40No, thanks.
10:41And I think we think about this thing in a few layers, right?
10:44We have the, you know, real-time event management,
10:47where we have our agencies out there responding,
10:49doing things like clearing catch basins and checking our highways
10:52and doing additional passes with street sweepers.
10:54And then we have, as the mayor mentioned,
10:56a number of sort of like midterm programs,
10:59investing $100 million in modernizing catch basins,
11:02all the cloudburst programs that we've done,
11:05the rain-guarded projects that we have to do much, much, much more of.
11:09And then we have the bigger, longer-term investments,
11:11like the $3 billion program that we're putting into place
11:14to build more stormwater and sewers in southeast Queens.
11:18So we put all of that together to try and create a comprehensive strategy
11:22to manage the future of climate change.
11:24But for, you know, a place like, I think,
11:25Niggerbacher Avenue flooded in Bushwick,
11:27is there a current project nearby there?
11:30Because that place floods a lot.
11:31Yeah, and as we see these places that have more common flooding,
11:34we have our agencies take a look at the specific situation.
11:38Sometimes it's a larger catch base in there,
11:40and sometimes it's a bigger project,
11:42and sometimes it's a repaving that changes the grading.
11:45So we have to look at each neighborhood
11:46and figure out exactly what it is that is creating that flooding condition
11:50and then attack that problem.
11:52And quickly, my second question is about the U.S. Open.
11:54I know, Mayor Mamdani, you've made affordability.
11:56One of your core issues, when it came to the World Cup,
11:59you gave away tickets, the U.S. Open,
12:01which happens on city-owned parkland,
12:03that gets taken for the U.S. Open for a few weeks out of the year,
12:06and generally the public can't access a lot of the borough's largest park.
12:10It's more expensive than ever.
12:12They've reduced the number of FanFest tickets.
12:15I think they even reduced the number of cheaper tickets
12:18to favor more expensive tickets and then tickets given by sponsors.
12:21Is there anything you would want to do
12:23to make the U.S. Open more accessible to regular New Yorkers?
12:26And would you ever want to revisit the current deal that USTA has with New York City,
12:32so New York City, and particularly Queens, actually makes more money
12:35if it's going to be more expensive and more unable for the average Newarker to attend?
12:41Would you want to find a way to make New York City be able to actually
12:44better financially benefit from it, and particularly Queens?
12:47I think we never want to accept the premise that something has to be unaffordable
12:51when it comes to a sporting event that is part of what so many love about our city.
12:58Some of my favorite memories as a kid growing up in New York City
13:00are going to the qualifiers for free before the Open began.
13:04I remember when I bought a grounds pass, I think it was 50 bucks for day one,
13:08and I know that that number has skyrocketed over recent years.
13:12So we are always going to look to ways to make these kinds of events
13:15more accessible to everyday New Yorkers.
13:18That is not something that will be limited to the World Cup.
13:20And the reason for that is that it is a moment that can really open so many kids' eyes
13:26to the wonder of a sport that they may not know before.
13:28And as you've said, it is happening in one of the jewels of our city.
13:31So that's going to be something that we continue to work on,
13:34and it is something that continues to be a part of our affordability agenda.
13:38I mean, you're their landlord, so can you get some free tickets for people who want to go?
13:42I don't care about tennis, so I'm not asking for myself.
13:44But for other people, like...
13:45You don't care about tennis?
13:46I'm not a tennis fan at all.
13:47Have you ever gone?
13:48No, I never will.
13:50Never will?
13:52Okay, I'll leave it.
13:54It's happening right now, and there's been lots of coverage of how much more unaffordable it is this year.
13:59So is there anything you can do for this session of it to...
14:02That's something we'll get back to you on.
14:04Thanks, Katie.
14:05All right, we're going to go to Marcia and then Kelly.
14:08First of all, Mr. Mayor, I thought I'd apply to be the chef at Gracie Manchin.
14:12Come on over.
14:13I actually am trained...
14:15Never mind.
14:15You're a trained chef?
14:16Yes.
14:17I went to the Culinary Institute.
14:19Why are we only finding out about this in August?
14:21But I thought I would apply because I think, you know, another career might be...
14:25Look, all applications are being...
14:28Just a joke.
14:29So, two questions.
14:31The first one is this.
14:31A group of about 15 minority groups that represent bodega owners are filing suit to stop your city-run groceries.
14:40They say that your city-run groceries, and I quote, are a direct assault on minority businesses by a mayor
14:47who claims to be a champion of the disenfranchised poor and working-class New Yorkers.
14:53How do you feel about that?
14:54They feel that they're being disenfranchised, and what's your response to their suit and their attempt to stop your city
15:00-run grocery stores?
15:00I continue to be fully confident in both the legality and the importance of our initiative to deliver five city
15:08-run grocery stores, one in each borough, to the people of our city.
15:11We are talking about a reflection of a cost-of-living crisis that has seen grocery prices increase by about
15:2030% over the last few years.
15:22And we're also talking about delivering five city-run grocery stores in a city of 8.5 million people that
15:29has more than 1,000 grocery stores.
15:30And we've seen, in fact, with Essex Street Market in Manhattan, as well as Moore Street Market in Brooklyn, a
15:38model where the city has subsidized groceries, and it has not had a negative effect on bodegas around them or
15:44on grocery stores around them.
15:45And I'm confident both in the legality of this, that it will stand up in court, and in the importance
15:49of delivering it.
15:52Is there anything that you can do to help these bodega owners who feel that they're going to be losing
15:58money?
15:59Absolutely. What we can do is continue with our approach citywide of looking for ways to cut costs and cut
16:06the regulations that so many bodegueros, as well as grocery store owners, have to jump through in order to do
16:13their work.
16:14And what we've found through our open task force is already the identification of more than 50 potential changes that
16:21target things from the current necessity of having two different licenses to sell hot food and cold dairy frozen dessert,
16:30as well as the kinds of things that make it harder for bodegas to both sell items outside of the
16:35store and inside of the store.
16:36My second question has to do with your decision to take on the reconstruction of the BQE and the amount
16:43of money it's going to cost.
16:45Are you hoping to get federal funds, or do you think that you'll be able to pay for it out
16:50of the capital funds that New York City already has?
16:53What we have announced today is something that will be done through city funds, and that is something that we
16:59have put forward because the cost of inaction is frankly too high.
17:02Every year that the city does not act on the BQE costs the city at least $160 million.
17:08And there have been many administrations that have understood the importance of this.
17:11We want to be one that also delivers on the fix to this central part of the BQE.
17:16I'll pass it over to our deputy mayor of operations to add some additional details.
17:19Yeah.
17:20As the mayor mentioned, this program, we aren't anticipating having any federal funds,
17:25and that enables us to advance this project on our timeline with our design, our scope, and having complete control
17:32over our community benefits.
17:34So it's a benefit to the program to be issuing those federal funds.
17:39Disruption you're going to cause by the construction?
17:42You know, the fact that you're going to have to build that overpass or whatever you call it,
17:47and will there be a disruption to local communities?
17:50Yeah, so the plan does require a bypass, a four-lane bypass, at the level just below the promenade.
17:57Previous proposals had put that bypass on the promenade, which would have been quite disruptive.
18:03We feel this proposal does lessen the community impacts of prior proposals.