#12 NYC Parks Today with Commissioner Sue Donoghue
During this 12-episode podcast series NYC Parks has looked at the COVID-19 era of 2020-2021 through the lens of interviews conducted during the Oral History Project in 2022. For the first 11 shows we highlighted some of the more than 100 Parkies that volunteered to tell their stories. For our final show, we welcome Commissioner … Continue reading #12 NYC Parks Today with Commissioner Sue Donoghue →
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#11 Summer of Unrest
This episode captures the memories of New York City Parks Department members as they recall the time period of social unrest during the COVID-19 crisis. Calls for social justice followed the deaths of Breonna Taylor in March 2020 in Louisville and George Floyd in May 2020 in Minneapolis. During the first wave of the pandemic, … Continue reading #11 Summer of Unrest →
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#10: Trees
On this episode we are focusing on one topic: trees. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NYC Parks teams that work to preserve the green spaces of New York faced challenges of working during the crisis, just like all of us. There also was a destructive windstorm that demolished thousands of trees, that added to the … Continue reading #10: Trees →
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#9 One Leaf, One Team
During the COVID-19 pandemic the Parks Department leaned on its team on the frontlines extra hard to keep parks clean and green for the public to enjoy. This is a good opportunity to learn more about the agency’s workforce, in particular to shine a light on the Parks Opportunity Program. This gives entry-level workers jobs, … Continue reading #9 One Leaf, One Team →
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#8 Feeding New Yorkers
During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest challenges facing New York City was food insecurity. As the scale of the pandemic grew, the City of New York turned to NYC Parks. This was the Get Food New York City program. A robust food distribution program was run out of NYC Parks Recreation Centers for … Continue reading #8 Feeding New Yorkers →
In 2022, NYC Parks embarked on an oral history project to capture stories from more than 100 Parks employees about their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 changed New Yorkers’ relationship with open space. This project aims to capture and preserve for the historical record this important slice of Parks history. The interviews captured what they did, saw, thought, learned, and hoped for as New Yorkers, public servants, and lovers and stewards of parks and open spaces. The interviews are raw, sincere, insightful, personal, painful, and funny—as unique as each person who participated in this project. Participants span entry level staff to the Commissioner. The stories represent every corner of the Agency. The podcast is produced by the NYC Parks Media Education Lab at McCarren Park Play Center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The hosts are Diana Baker, senior media education associate, and Kevin C. Fitzpatrick, author and project director. Eghosa R. Ogboe: Producer/Editor.
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