Originally published in Issue 10 - May 27, 1997

At the request of the Parks Council, IBO has prepared an analysis measuring the impact of private support on City parks through a survey of eight major parks friends groups as well as the budget of the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). The main findings from the study are listed below:

• DPR spending has been reduced significantly in the last ten years. In constant 1996 dollars, DPR operating spending started at $217.8 million in 1987, peaked at $221.6 million in 1988, and fell to $152.2 million in 1996-a drop of 31.3 percent from 1988-96.

• During this same period, private support for parks operations has grown considerably, from $3.6 million in 1987 to $17.7 million in 1996. In constant 1996 dollars, private support still shows growth, rising from $5.0 million in 1987 to $17.7 million in 1996.

• Private support is concentrated in only a few parks across the City, however. The Central Park Conservancy, Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, and Prospect Park Alliance accounted for 73 percent of all private operating spending from 1987-96.

• The increase in private operating support for parks, as well as the combined spending of DPR and private spending shows that private contributions have not made up for cuts to DPR's budget. Despite the rise in private support, total operating spending on parks, in constant 1996 dollars, has fallen from $222.8 million in 1987 to $164.3 million in 1996. Much of this decrease is attributable to the 23.9 percent drop in DPR's budget, from $206.5 million to $157.2 million from 1991-1992.

• Moreover, certain boroughs faced greater spending cuts than others. Combined with private funding trends, which is skewed in favor of two boroughs (Manhattan and Brooklyn), the change in total parks spending has left the other boroughs with less support, relative to a decade ago.

• While it is clear that the City has not restored spending to pre-1992 levels, a large labor pool has been made available to DPR through the Work Experience Program (WEP). In 1996, over 5,000 WEP workers were assigned to DPR, each providing an average of 18 hours of labor. By standard productivity measures, this resource is equivalent to over 2,600 full-time employees. However, the City limits the kinds of services that WEP workers provide; they generally only clean Parks property and may not be used to perform tasks previously performed by a paid Parks worker.

• On a programming note, DPR spending for recreation has fallen disproportionately (65.5 percent), in comparison to the budgets for the general maintenance and upkeep of the park (24 percent) and centrally managed programs (43 percent). Adding in private support, which was $5 million in 1996, and was essentially zero in 1987, the reduction in total combined recreational spending is still 39 percent.

Copies of the full analysis are available by calling (212) 442-0632, writing to the Independent Budget Office, 110 William Street, New York, NY 10038, or by accessing the Publications section of this IBO website.