The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is the branch of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's residents.

The department maintains more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds and recreation facilities across the five boroughs. The properties maintained by the department range from natural areas such as woodlands and wetlands, to skating rinks and swimming pools.

see also: List of New York City parks

The total area of the properties maintained by the department is over 28,000 acres (113 km²).

The largest single component of parkland maintained by the department is the Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, with an area of 2,765 acres (11 km²). The department is also responsible for such "flagship" parks facilities as Central Park, Prospect Park, Van Cortlandt Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and the Staten Island Greenbelt.

The department is a mayoral agency. The current Parks Commissioner is Adrian Benepe, who was appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on January 25, 2002. The department maintains a police force division, called the Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP), responsible for maintaining safety within the parks system.

The department is allocated a expense budget and a capital budget. The expense budget covers the total expenses incurred by the agency, including salaries. The capital budget is dedicated solely for new construction projects, as well as major repairs in parks that have a useful life of more than five years and cost at least $35,000.

External links

• New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (http://www.nycgovparks.org/) official site
  • Parks History (http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_history/historic_tour/historic_tour.html)
  • Interactive Park Map (http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/interactive_maps/park_map.php) of New York City