Parks & Recreation magazine interviews New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg about his commitment to parks, and the Mayor is quite the spokesman for them. In his own words:
New Yorkers have a special relationship with parks. After all, they’re our backyards. They’re where we go to relax, spend an afternoon outdoors, and share good times with family and friends.
That’s enough reason to make them a priority, but our parks have many other advantages as well. They teach our children about the natural world. They help clean the air we breathe They encourage exercise and fitness. They increase property values and boost tourism. And the list goes on.
That’s why we have focused so intently on improving our parks system. In fact, one of the main goals of PlaNYC, our long-term sustainability program, is to ensure that all New Yorkers have a park or open space within a 10-minute walk of their home. It’s an ambitious goal, but we’re well on our way to achieving it. In the last eight years, we’ve added more than 500 acres of new parkland to the city — the largest expansion since the 1930s.
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