Improvements to Thomas

Jefferson Park for East

Harlem/El Barrio residents
Report and Recommendations from
Friends of Thomas Jefferson Park and
Toms Dog Run
Mia Hernandez
Carmen Morales
Iris Ruiz
Marie Winfield
East Harlem/El Barrio, New York City
January 2015

State of the Park

and
Community Recommendations
for Thomas Jefferson Park
Executive Summary -- Recommendations
Through our continued work in the park and the community, we recommend and
advocate for additional funding to support the following: a summer maintenance
plan, park irrigation, upgrades to Toms Dog Run, general park upgrades, and
increased programming and stewardship opportunities. We believe that these
recommendations will support a sustainable plan for the future and preserve the
current work happening through the Randalls Island Park Alliance improvement
project in Thomas Jefferson Park.
Contents
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.

State of the Park

Summer Maintenance Plan
Toms Dog Run Upgrades
Park Irrigation
General Park Upgrades
Increased Programming and Stewardship Opportunities
How We Can Provide Community Support for Recommendations
Appendix: History of Thomas Jefferson Park

I. State of the Park

2014 was a great year for improvements to Thomas Jefferson Park. With Toms Dog
Run and Friends of Thomas Jefferson Park, aided by Partnerships for Parks
Outreach Coordinator Shamell Martin, there were greater numbers of community
residents and organizations volunteering to improve the park. Our social media
engagement now has over 1500 East Harlem residents receiving information
about Thomas Jefferson Park and the citys Community Parks Initiative and how it
will improve East Harlem parks.
Through parks equity advocacy citywide, Randalls Island Park Alliance
committed to improving Thomas Jefferson Park with major necessary
maintenance projects. Our presence at the Community Board has helped informed
the Parks committee about needs which are now reflected in this years CB11 Parks
capital budget priorities: irrigation for Thomas Jefferson Park was added to the
CB11 capital budget priority list at the January 2015 meeting.
We have supported the Community Parks Initiative by doing additional outreach
for public scope meetings and advocating for and encouraging opportunities for
community input, such as with the skate park and local skateboarding youth. We

are currently working with the Parks Department to provide an educational

opportunity for those youth to learn about landscape architecture and design.
Earlier in 2014, the Friends of Thomas Jefferson Park community survey revealed
what weve seen through our engaged community online people love our park and
support much needed improvements. Weve received appreciation and support
from CB11, our State Assemblymans office, and community residents in our efforts.
Our petition to the Parks Dept. to fix the playground gates engaged almost 200
East Harlem residents and resulted in a success: a safer playground area for
our children. Weve planned Its My Park Day events, a general clean-up event, a
general community meeting, and regular Toms Dog Run volunteer events. Toms
Dog Run proactively organized installing plastic bag containers and maintaining free
plastic bags for residents to clean up after their dog. We are also developing a
proposal for a Parks Commissioners visit to an East Harlem school, which Mitchell
Silvers office is willing to help facilitate.
The following recommendations support park improvements with community
engagement and working together with the city to provide sustainable solutions to
maintaining the park.
II. Summer Maintenance Plan
Community residents are concerned about the amount of trash that accumulates
during the summer due to high usage, especially the BBQ pits. Large piles of bagged
trash, overflowing trash cans, strong smelling trash, and trash that is not picked up
in a timely fashion, can make the park an unpleasant experience during the summer
months. From our conversations with Councilmember Mark Levines office, we
understand that a starting point for resolving these problems would be a walkthrough with the Department of Sanitation to better understand if there are
options for more frequent pick-up or changes in schedule that can reduce trash
accumulation in the park. In addition, we hope additional funding or changes in
scheduling for clean up, more and/or larger trash cans, can allow Thomas
Jefferson Park access to highly trained Parks staff for clean up and required
regular maintenance.
The summer maintenance plan is necessary to support the RIPA improvement
project: without changes in current maintenance and management of the high use
park, the improvements that RIPA is putting in with time-intensive use of their
labor, staff, materials and money will go to waste.
We also recommend a community education component to complement these
efforts by working with NYPD Community Affairs, the Parks Dept. and Parks
enforcement. We are proposing the following:

o Programming such as community events (ideas: My Community

BBQ/Mi Barrio BBQ where certain weekend days are reserved for
community programming like a demonstration of healthy grilling with
Corbin Hill Farms, a local restaurant or community organization) with
community education about the park permit process and
requirements for use of the BBQ pits (cleaning up, getting a permit,
etc)
o Creating community education materials by working with Parks to
let residents know about the procedure for getting BBQ permits,
requirements
o Entire summer/fall season focusing on community education
before any increased enforcement
o Avoiding increased enforcement during community events so
that new programming is not associated with a feeling of overpolicing
o Community outreach at events like Street Games where education
materials are available
o Making community education materials available in Rec Center
o Organizing community ed park team of volunteers to help on
education days
We are thrilled to see the Council Speaker promoting the Cleanup NYC initiative in
East Harlem and the South Bronx and hope that this initiative or others will extend
to the park, our sole large green space, to solve our trash accumulation problem in
the warmer months.
III. Toms Dog Run Upgrades
Toms Dog Run is a necessary component of a sustainable Thomas Jefferson
Park. Throughout this lasting period of insufficient maintenance, the Toms Dog
Run volunteers, led by President Mia Hernandez, provide an invaluable resource to
the community and the Parks Department. They are the first line of defense in
reporting park problems because they are in the park daily to walk their dogs and
notice any issues immediately. Ms. Hernandez has provided community education
by getting volunteers to download the NYC 311 app, documenting issues and using
311 to report problems with the Parks, as well as communicating directly with the
Parks District manager and the Partnerships for Parks outreach program. Toms
Dog Run educates pet owners about proper pet waste disposal and resources
such as the ASPCA, low cost veterinary care, and events for pets across the city.
Increased involvement at Toms Dog Run is a benefit for the park as a whole. It
encourages dog users to use the Run instead of the ballfields, which require special
maintenance. It brings together a community of pet owners to share important
information about pet care and resources and encourage responsible pet ownership.
It brings more people to the park and encourages better community use of the park
in reporting issues so that the park can be better maintained. Upgrades to the Dog
Run are an important part of this initiative.
3

The Run needs a water fountain and water connection to benefit its users, as well
as agility equipment and obstacles. The Run also requires repairs to the
fencing/gates, a new surface and an additional section for smaller dogs so that
more dog users can use the Run without conflict. The Dog Run also needs a constant
supply of wood chips and other materials to maintain a safe, clean space for dogs in
our community.
IV. Park Irrigation
Community Board 11 included irrigation for Thomas Jefferson Park as a
capital budget priority at the January 2015 Parks committee meeting.
Irrigation for the park is necessary to sustain the improvements being made by
Randalls Island Park Alliance, which started in 2014 and will continue through this
year. Over the last year, large trees had to be cut down in Thomas Jefferson Park and
unsightly stumps were left where tall trees once stood. Areas which should be small
lawns and green areas were covered with years of leaf cover. After volunteer
projects removed leaf cover in some areas, the soil underneath was compact, where
nothing could grow.
When RIPA started this improvement project, the process of breaking up and
aerating soil actually broke RIPAs equipment because the soil was so compact.
Needed tools were not available or were broken. We understand the condition of
the park last year as being the result of an absence of necessary watering required,
in order to sustain the parks plant life.
In January 2015, new trees have been planted throughout the park. The entire park
has been reseeded, including baseball fields, and grass is now growing through this
intensive process by specialized RIPA staff. With current staffing levels and
maintenance in Thomas Jefferson Park, it does not seem possible to sustain these
improvements. While we hope additional funding will be available to increase
knowledgeable staff dedicated to Thomas Jefferson Park, an irrigation system
throughout the park with a timer would be able to provide necessary watering
with less intensive staff investment for watering.
Benefits of an irrigation system in Thomas Jefferson Park were outlined in a
previous proposal to District 8s participatory budget ballot. These goals of this
project include the capacity to:

Maintain and sustain adequate hydration of soil and foliage which reduces
air pollution while improving air quality and carbon footprint
Reduce incidents of asthma
Provide user-friendly system for efficient irrigation, saving time, using less
manpower, reducing budget and time for dead foliage removal

Allow deeper maintenance for green spaces by having more time for projects,
such as pruning, adding compost
Increase quality of life by creating healthier, safer space and thereby
encouraging varied outdoor activities that can affect childhood obesity,
diabetes, and asthma

V. General Park Upgrades

Continued capital projects are necessary for Thomas Jefferson Park as our main
large green space in East Harlem. Whether its the skate park or basketball
reconstruction, the high use and capacity of the park requires capital improvements.
Due to this, Thomas Jefferson could not qualify for the playground reconstructions
currently happening through the Community Parks Initiative but it is very
necessary. On the east side of the childrens playground area is an area that creates a
large pool of standing water each time it rains, with no place for drainage. Green
infrastructure is currently the standard for upgraded playgrounds and, with new
materials that absorb stormwater, a renovated playground would benefit our
environment, provide a positive play environment for children and solve the
drainage issue.
Other general upgrades that need addressing: sufficient park lighting for the
evening hours, proper signage and cover for the long jump pit used for by the
City Parks Foundation track program in the summer, repair or upgrade of water
fountains in park, improvements to the interior of the Rec Center such as
replacing pool tables -- sufficient staff, equipment and training for maintenance
of special elements of park such as ballfields, soccer field, track, long jump pit, and
dedicated areas for community gardening.
VI. Increased Programming and Stewardship Opportunities
Our recommendations are for any type of support in terms of funding or advocacy
for programming and stewardship opportunities for local businesses and
community organizations to contribute to the maintenance of the park. We
hope that Thomas Jefferson Park can serve as a model of placemaking within a
Community Parks Initiative zone, where community input is the standard.
We recommend increased programming for all age groups, especially seniors,
in both the Park and the Rec Center, in order to get people using the park in
different ways and to feel ownership of our public space. For example, we are in
touch with the Urban Parks Rangers to bring former programs back to our park and
continue to look for ways for community programming involving skateboarding and
the Harold Hunter Foundation.
While private-public partnerships are helpful for park maintenance across the city,
we hope that any new stewardship opportunities make our community a primary

focus and any relationships created are with organizations that follow exemplary
corporate social responsibility models for the environment, workers rights,
diversity initiatives and that support policies which improve our communitys
residents, providing real connections to our community versus
advertising/branding of public space.
VII. How we plan to support our recommendations

Apply for PfP capacity grant and other grants to support recommendations
Participation in the District 8 Participatory Budget process as facilitators and
delegates
Participate in leadership programs and other opportunities offered by
Partnership for Parks
Community outreach and education
Plan volunteer opportunities with PfP and Parks Dept
Working with Community Board 11 Parks Committee
Working with NYPD Community Affairs officers in 23rd Precinct
Working with local officials
Working with Catalyst Parks program to bring needed programming to the
park and to organize community residents
Create stewardship opportunities that reflect our communitys needs

We hope that the Council Speakers office will be willing to support our
recommendations to create sustainable improvements to Thomas Jefferson
Park, especially during 2015, the 110th anniversary year of its opening. We
look forward to working with you as a community in 2015 and beyond.
Thank you for your consideration.
Friends of Thomas Jefferson Park and Toms Dog Run
East Harlem/El Barrio, New York City
January 2015
VIII. Appendix: History of Thomas Jefferson Park
Discover East Harlem Map
Under the small park laws of 1887, this land was acquired in 1900 while waiting
for money to finish the improvements. The Department of Parks opened the park to
the neighborhood with temporary tent structures and a baseball diamond. The
Parks Department reported the people of Little Italy and other sections nearby
flocked to this place. Several band concerts were given and this temporary use of the
land provided a success even beyond expectations. When the park officially opened
in October 1905, it was a gala occasion with a chorus and mass flag and dumbbell
drills by thousands of neighborhood children. These children later participated in

the citys childrens farm gardens program, farming small plots near the East River.
During the 1930s the WPA built a large swimming pool and bathhouses and
sponsored educational programs.