New City Parks Commitment to Create Access to Healthy Community Open Space Part of White House Challenge
Access to parks recognized by Biden Administration in $1.7 billion national call to action to help end hunger and promote healthy living.
NEW YORK CITY, NY (March 5, 2024) - Joining over 140 other nonprofits, health systems, insurers, food banks, municipalities, and universities from across the country, New City Parks’ vision to dramatically accelerate the creation of new parks in low-income communities across the Northeastern United States was highlighted as a commitment in President Biden’s signature efforts to advance healthy communities and reduce health disparities by 2030.
On Tuesday, February 27, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $1.7 billion in commitments across the country as part of the “White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities.” Building on $8 billion in commitments announced in September 2022 at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, the Challenge was a nationwide call-to-action to stakeholders across society to join in solutions.
New City Parks committed to the creation of at least 20 new parks in communities suffering an acute lack of accessible, safe, and welcoming open space. While park disparities are a recognized threat to public health outcomes, the Centers for Disease Control research has found that less than half of people in the United States live within half a mile of a park. In low-income neighborhoods, three out of four children can’t walk to a safe park.
Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff announced the commitments at an event at the White House, alongside White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden; White House Office of Public Engagement Director Stephen Benjamin; Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack; and chef José Andrés and basketball player Elena Delle Donne, Chairs of the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
“We are both proud and galvanized by the White House’s recognition that access to parks and the ability to get outside is essential to any strategy to improve health outcomes,” said New City Parks Founder and Executive Director Rose Harvey. “Parks build both mind and muscle. Children and families in every corner of America deserve spaces to recreate and enjoy the outdoors. We look forward to partnering with communities to get new parks open before another generation grows up without this fundamental right.”
Founded as a pilot three years ago and launched as an independent nonprofit organization only this year, New City Parks is working to help overlooked small and midsized cities create and revitalize parks in low-income neighborhoods that have long suffered disinvestment and lack both staff resources and capital capacity.
New City Parks has already completed four parks in three initial cities (Passaic and Jersey City, NJ and Poughkeepsie, NY); with ten additional projects in the pipeline in Paterson and Jersey City, NJ and Buffalo, NY. The group has raised private funding to provide community outreach and pre-development, engineering, and design services to make these parks ready for transformation. This private investment has leveraged over $34 million in primarily public capital funding for their construction.
New City Parks anticipates completing those ten projects by the end of 2026 and is currently identifying new cities and more parks projects so that by 2030, it will have completed a total of 20 parks projects, with long term sustainable maintenance plans and programming for each site.
“New Jersey Community Development Corporation is committed to creating opportunities to transform lives in the City of Paterson's Great Falls neighborhood. We are proud to partner with New City Parks to create, design, and build much-needed green play spaces in Paterson's Westside Park,” said Robert Guarasci, Founder and CEO of NJCDC, "and we commend their commitment.”
“Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is committed to eliminating health disparities and enhancing health and well-being for all. We have been proud to support New City Parks’ work to create, design, and build much-needed green play spaces in Buffalo’s Roosevelt Park,” said Michael Ball, Vice President of Community Affairs “and we salute their commitment to not only develop more parks in our city but to bring this work to more communities in need.”
“These efforts, and there's many more, are going to make a real difference in real lives,” Emhoff said.
ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE CHALLENGE
FULL LIST: White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities Commitments
Want to learn more? Join the CDC Foundation’s live conversation, Vision to Action: The Power of Partnerships to End Hunger and Create Better Health for All
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