Adrian Benepe News

New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, NYRP Executive Director Amy Freitag, and President of the Bryant Park Corporation and 34th Street Partnership Dan Biederman, were joined by Borough President Marty Markowitz and Council Member Diana Reyna at the park to present the holiday gift of 74 trees to the residents and community of Bushwick.

There are 59 species of birds and 6,220 individual birds in Central Park, according to the final tally of the 111th Christmas Bird Count held in Central Park today. Teams of citizen birdwatchers, guided by Urban Park Rangers, spent the morning canvassing all 843 acres of Central Park identifying and counting each and every bird in a game of ornithological 'I Spy.'

New York City Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Prospect Park Alliance Chairman Albert H. Garner and New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky today broke ground on Lakeside at Prospect Park.

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe today urged New Yorkers to follow ice safety guidelines and exercise extreme caution in New York City's parks. During the winter months, while ponds and lakes may appear frozen, venturing onto them is extremely dangerous and can cause potentially fatal accidents.

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Prospect Park Alliance Board Chairman Albert H. Garner announced today that Emily Lloyd has been chosen as successor to retiring Prospect Park Administrator and Prospect Park Alliance President, Tupper Thomas.

Parks & Recreation is pleased to present the 28th annual Wreath Interpretations exhibition, a holiday tradition at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park. It will open to the public on Thursday, December 9 and remain on display through January 6, 2011. Among the fine artists, horticulturalists, and other creative souls who have created this year's wreaths are artist Jennifer Cecere, the Horticultural Society of New York, and Parks' Monument Conservator John Saunders.

Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, MSG Sports Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales Howard Jacobs, Vice President for Sales Operations at Coca-Cola Seena Cushman, Rangers Team Nutritionist Cynthia Sass, former Ranger Brian Mullen and Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto to announce 'New York Rangers & NYC Parks Youth Street Hockey presented by Live Positively, Coca-Cola,' a new partnership offering a free instructional hockey program to serve 500 New York City youth at Parks' recreation centers this winter.

Parks & Recreation is pleased to present the 28th annual Wreath Interpretations exhibition, a holiday tradition at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park. It will open to the public on Thursday, December 9 and remain on display through January 6, 2011. Among the fine artists, horticulturalists, and other creative souls who have created this year's wreaths are artist Jennifer Cecere, the Horticultural Society of New York, and Parks' Monument Conservator John Saunders.

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation is pleased to present The Everglades: Vanishing Splendor, a striking collection of photographs from Anthony Almeida's seven-year photo essay on the threatened state of the Florida Everglades.

The Department of Parks & Recreation, partnering with the City Council, today announced an extension of the license terms for Parks community gardens.

Thanksgiving is just days away, and for those looking to work off that extra slice of pecan pie, Parks offers public skating throughout the city.

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate Levin today unveiled a new plaque at the TKTS booth in Duffy Square, honoring the site's history and recent restorations, while also lauding the efforts of Mayor John V. Lindsay. Mayor Lindsay was a passionate supporter of the Broadway Theatre and was instrumental in the creation of the original TKTS booth with the Theatre Development Fund in 1973, making Duffy Square ever since a destination point for those in search of reduced-price theater tickets. Also in attendance at today's unveiling were State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried; Broadway producer Hal Prince, who is Chair of the Theatre Industry Committee to Honor John Lindsay; as well as leaders of the Times Square Alliance, Theatre Development Fund, Broadway League, Broadway Association, and members of Mayor Lindsay's family.

Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined Deputy Borough President Ed Burke, Mark Russo of Friends of Abandoned Ceremonies, and Janice Blanchard of the Travis Fourth of July Parade Committee to break ground on a $1.2-million construction project at Independence Park in the Travis community of Staten Island. Later in the day, Commissioner Benepe broke ground on a $2.5-million project to construct a synthetic turf playing field and tot lot at New Dorp Beach. He was joined by Borough President James Molinaro, Council Member Vincent Ignizio, Assemblywoman Elect Nicole Malliotakis, and Congressman Elect Michael Grimm to celebrate the new field.

Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel today joined Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, State Senator Daniel Squadron, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development Regional Director Vincent Hom, Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty, Uniformed Sanitationmen's Association President Harry Nespoli, Community Board 1 Chair Julie Menin, and Southbridge Towers Inc.

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation is pleased to present The Everglades: Vanishing Splendor, a striking collection of photographs from Anthony Almeida's seven-year photo essay on the threatened state of the Florida Everglades.

Today, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Borough President Marty Markowitz, Assembly Member James Brennan, Council Member Brad Lander and President of the Prospect Park Alliance Tupper Thomas to celebrate the newly renovated Vanderbilt Street Playground in Prospect Park.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined thousands of New Yorkers the annual Pumpkin Festival in Central Park on Saturday.

Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined Council Member Vincent Ignizio, Assemblyman Lou Tobacco, County Clerk Steve Fiala, Turn Around Friends President James Wynne, and Staten Island Parks Commissioner Adena Long to cut the ribbon on a brand new $2.49 million playground at Seaside Nature Park. Later in the day, Commissioner Benepe celebrated $4.3 million in renovations to the outdoor track and multi-purpose field at Corporal Thompson Park alongside Congressman Mike McMahon, Council Member Debi Rose, and Borough Commissioner Long.

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation is pleased to present The Everglades: Vanishing Splendor, a striking collection of photographs from Anthony Almeida's seven-year photo essay on the threatened state of the Florida Everglades.

On Saturday, New Yorkers embraced the first opportunity to plant trees in public parks following the September 16th tornados, which destroyed thousands of trees in our urban forest. First Deputy Parks Commissioner Liam Kavanagh joined Irene Farrow, International Programs Manager, Earth Day Network; Amy Freitag, Executive Director of the New York Restoration Project; Frances Resheske, Senior VP of Public Affairs for Con Edison; and over 230 volunteers to kick off Mayor Bloomberg's MillionTreesNYC Fall 2010 Planting Day in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.