Partnerships for Parks

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Partnerships for Parks

PfP is the public-private program that supports and champions a growing network of leaders caring and advocating for neighborhood parks and green spaces.

05/14/2026

Curious about our city’s street trees? Interested in learning how to plant them? Join our hands-on workshop this Saturday, May 16 from 10am to 12pm at S. Railroad Ave and Cornish Ave to plant young trees along a block in Elmhurst, Queens! Genevieve Moralez, Greening Central Queens stewardship coordinator at NYC Parks, along with other Parks team members, will demonstrate planting, mulching, and watering. You will then work in small groups to plant trees! Connect with like-minded community members and leave equipped with the ability to care for local street trees. Coffee, water, and light snacks provided. This workshop is hosted in collaboration with NYC Parks’ Stewarding Canopy and Community in Central Queens (SCCCQ) project. Register here! https://bit.ly/PfPNYCParksTreePlanting26 📷 Photos of street trees in Queens courtesy of New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

05/13/2026

New York City’s once-a-decade Tree Census is here, and every tree counts! 🌳 Join NYC Parks Trees Count to see trees through a new lens by learning how to survey them in your local park. By attending an upcoming training, you’ll gain the tools and skills to identify local species, from elms to maples, and to help collect the vital data needed to care for our urban forest long-term. You'll also receive a counting kit, t-shirt, and hat to get started! How to get involved: New volunteers register for a training session to learn the ropes and start counting with your kit. Returning counters sign up for a Trees Count Meetup to head out with other tree lovers and count together. Sign up today! nyc.gov/parks/treescount New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

05/08/2026

🌳 NYC’s urban forest just got some extra love! 🌳 This week, we celebrated the official "kickoff" of City of Forest Day at Harlem Art Park by getting our hands dirty, stewarding the street trees planted at last year's kickoff, and helping keep our city cool, clean, and vibrant.

City of Forest Day is a citywide day of events to raise awareness around the importance of NYC's urban forest and the essential role New Yorkers play in caring for the "lungs" of our city. COFD is presented by Forest for All NYC in partnership with the NYC Parks and Open Space Partners coalition and NYC Parks.

A massive shoutout to our amazing Trees New York for their expert pruning demo, to the Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, and to everyone who helped give our young trees a much-needed watering. Together, we’re ensuring NYC’s canopy stays healthy for generations to come.

📅 SAVE THE DATE! The celebration is just beginning! Mark your calendars for the official City of Forest Day on October 3rd, 2026. Whether you’re a seasoned steward or just love a good stroll through the park, there’s something for you. Stay tuned here for more ways to get involved or sign up for our mailing list. https://bit.ly/PfPEmailList Forest for All NYC New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Trees New York

05/01/2026

It’s all about trees this spring and PfP is right in the mix of the action! Our Urban Forest team hosted a street tree stewardship event for 150 elementary students at the Earth School on the Lower East Side to celebrate Arbor Day last week. Students cared for nine of their street trees, created signs for the tree beds to encourage community members--and their dogs--to be mindful of the trees, and enjoyed a fun and interactive storytime centered on the importance of city trees. Following the release of NYC’s first-ever Urban Forest Plan and moving full speed ahead into spring, we are excited to continue working hand-in-hand with NYC communities, city government, and partner organizations to grow and care for our urban forest, particularly in our most heat-vulnerable communities. Get involved! www.partnershipsforparks.org NYC Climate # NYC

04/29/2026

NYC’s first-ever is here! 🌳

Over the past year, communities, advocates, and partners across NYC came together to shape the City’s first-ever —grounded in real input, real needs, and a shared vision for a greener future. Now, we’re ready to help bring that vision to life. For decades, Partnerships for Parks has been providing volunteers with the tools needed to advocate and care for neighborhood parks and green spaces. We're excited to build on that work by connecting neighborhood tree stewards into our network of support, resources, and education, and advocacy. Grateful to The Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, City Parks Foundation, and partners across the city for making this possible.

Read the plan: www.urbanforestplan.nyc
Get Involved! www.partnershipsforparks.org

03/13/2026

We are saddened to share the news that last month we lost our dear community partner, longtime Harlem resident Benzenia Johnson—leader of the Security 5 Block Association, president of the Edgecomb Block Association, member of the 30th Precinct community affairs team, renowned cosmetologist and model, owner of Beautiful Designs beauty salon on 145th Street, loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and pillar of her community. Benzenia passed on after over 30 years of dedicated service to the care of the street trees along Jackie Robinson Park and Edgecombe Avenue, from 145th to 150th streets.

When Benzenia first moved to that section of Harlem, it was sorely in need of some “tender loving care". The sidewalks were cracked and dangerous, the flower beds were bent, and no one wanted to walk there. A petite woman with a huge heart, Benzenia had a vision and got to work, sweeping and cleaning on her own at first and then mobilizing neighborhood volunteers. She worked weekends, nights, and Sunday mornings. She worked with youth and seniors, helping whenever and with whomever she could. She even held fundraisers to buy plants because her community wanted flowers in the gardens. In 2008, she wrote a proposal to NYC Parks and was awarded funding to pave the sidewalks. She then worked with the local community board to get new benches, a new fence, and new flower beds.

In her later years, Benzenia experienced health issues and had her foot amputated. Although she was wheelchair-bound, she continued to rally volunteers. According to our Manhattan Senior Community Engagement Coordinator Lexi Exchelman, “She could snap her fingers and 20 people would be ready to volunteer. She never blamed the world for her problems because she always knew that anyone, with positivity and grace, can make a difference.”

We send our heartfelt condolences to Benzenia Johnson’s friends and family. The strip of Harlem along Historic Jackie Robinson Park and Edgecombe Avenue between 145th and 150th streets will forever carry the legacy of her hard work, dedication, and love.

📷From right: Benzenia Johnson, Security 5 Block Association member Jackie Fuller, and Senior CEC Lexi Echelman

03/12/2026

Do you look up as you walk through our city, curious about the trees? Join us for Maples, Oaks, and More: The NYC Tree Map as a Stewardship Tool on Tues., March 24, from 6-7:30 p.m. at the St. John’s Recreation Center Media Lab in Brooklyn. At this interactive session hosted by our Partnerships Academy, we’ll explore the NYC Tree Map, a free online tool developed by NYC Parks. We’ll hear from NYC Parks Digital Media and the Jackson Heights Beautification Group Tree LC Crew on the design, development, and application of this tool to support tree stewardship across our city. You’ll also have time to hop on a computer and use the NYC Tree Map to become familiar with its features. Whether you’re a tree-hugger or just tree-curious, this workshop is for you! This session is part of NYC Open Data Week, an annual festival of community-driven events organized to celebrate open public data. Register Here: https://bit.ly/PfPWorkshop26_5_ Tree LC Crew / JHBG

03/10/2026

We had a ball with our partners at the 32nd Annual Bronx Parks Speak Up last month! We’ve been working side-by-side with organizations and community members across the Bronx since the first Bronx Parks Speak Up in 1995. We were thrilled to come together with the Bronx Coalition for Parks and Green Spaces once again to gain and share knowledge and build our network to support and advocate for our cherished Bronx green spaces. Interested in a second Bronx Speak Up in the summer? Fill out this form: https://bit.ly/SummerSpeakUp

02/24/2026

Check us out at the 32nd Annual Bronx Parks Speak Up! We’ll be leading two sessions: Meet Our Urban Forest Stewards and Activating Bronx Parks through the NYC Green Fund. At Meet Our Urban Forest Stewards, we will “think outside the mulch” with our Urban Forest Team and the Bronx Tree Stewards to explore what it can mean to be a tree steward in the Bronx; including ways to educate communities on the urban forest, access low-cost tree guards, and keep trees healthy all year long. Activating Bronx Parks through the NYC Green Fund will feature Knakisha Candanedo of Friends of Echo Park, Atapon Savitz of Eastchester Road Community Garden, and Laura James of Bronx River Community Garden to discuss activating Bronx parks and open spaces through the NYC Green Fund with community mural painting, planting events, wellness workshops, and more. We hope to see you there! Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Lehman College Faculty Dining Room, Music Building at 250 Bedford Park Blvd. W., Bronx, New York 10468. RSVP here: https://www.bronxspeakup.org/

02/20/2026

This month, we honored five community groups across New York City who have completed the Catalyst program at our Catalyst Recognition Ceremony: Friends of Echo Park and Washington's Walk Coalition from the Bronx, Friends of Livonia Park and Friends of Saratoga Park BedStuy from Brooklyn, and Friends of Mahoney Playground from Staten Island. These outstanding community groups help make neighborhood parks more inclusive, active, and safe with murals, daffodil plantings, food and back to school drives, concerts, harm reduction programming, trainings, fashion shows, and more. Due in part to these grassroots efforts, Livonia Park in Brownsville has major capital renovations on the horizon including improvements to walkways, seating areas, and passive recreation space. Congratulations to our dedicated community partners! Check out this article in the Bronx Times about Washington’s Walk Coalition: https://www.bxtimes.com/washingtons-walk-coalition-recognized/)

02/10/2026

Environmental Justice is the principle that all people have a right to live, work, and play in communities that are safe, healthy, and free of harmful environmental conditions. The Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice is leading the development of NYC's first comprehensive Environmental Justice Plan, which will outline a unified vision for advancing environmental justice and creating a healthier, more resilient city for all New Yorkers. Your feedback is critical! Help shape NYC's first-ever Environmental Justice Plan by filling out the community questionnaire at bit.ly/EJinform by March 1 at 11:59 p.m. NYC Climate

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New York, NY

Telephone

+12123601310

Website

http://www.partnershipsforparks.org/

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