Eric Adams Launches $30 Million "We Outside Summer" Initiative to Create New Parks

Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday a $30 million plan to transform vacant city lots into green spaces for New Yorkers. The new initiative, branded "We Outside Summer," aims to "transform vacant, abandoned lots into green space for New Yorkers," particularly in neighborhoods currently underserved by parks.

NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, present at the City Hall press conference, will manage the program's rollout. This initiative is part of the Adams administration's ongoing efforts to ensure more New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of a park.

The plan involves transferring land from other city agencies to NYC Parks. It will also utilize neighborhood-wide Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) applications. The ULURP process is necessary when a proposed land use action, such as creating a new park, requires changes to existing zoning or other significant land use regulations.

NYC Parks has identified 19 community districts that currently have limited access to parks. The agency has begun submitting one ULURP application per community district, a strategy that allows them to encompass many smaller potential park sites within a single review.

While not every site included in these applications will be acquired, successful ULURP approval will allow NYC Parks to purchase the sites, contingent on a willing private seller.

Recently, NYC Parks submitted ULURP applications for 44 sites in the first two communities targeted:

• Brooklyn Community District 5, which includes East New York and Cypress Hills
• Queens Community District 3, covering Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, and Corona

Officials noted that not all of these sites will ultimately be converted into parkland.