New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams asserting the opening of 11 new websites within the metropolis’s “Schoolyards to Playgrounds” program on Monday, July 14.
Photograph courtesy Workplace of the Mayor of the Metropolis of New York
New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams, New York Metropolis Public Faculties (NYCPS) Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, and New York Metropolis Division of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa introduced the opening of 11 new websites within the metropolis’s “Schoolyards to Playgrounds“ program on Monday, July 14. This announcement delivers one other key dedication of Adams’s 2025 State of the Metropolis.
The mayor stated Schoolyards to Playgrounds will increase entry to inexperienced area for New Yorkers in neighborhoods not inside strolling distance of a park by opening up schoolyards to the general public when not in use by the college, throughout the summer time, after college, and on the weekends.
This month, Adams stated these websites can be open from 8 a.m. till nightfall year-round.
A part of Mayor Adams’ Fiscal Yr 2026 Govt Price range — generally known as the metropolis’s “Greatest Price range Ever“— which was adopted by the New York Metropolis Council final month and voted on unanimously final week, the Adams administration is completely investing $770,000 towards these extra websites. It will put inexperienced area inside a 10-minute stroll of an extra 20,000 New Yorkers.
The mayor stated Monday’s announcement additionally continues “We Outdoors Summer time,“ his new initiative that features a collection of bulletins, occasions, investments, and new programming throughout the 5 boroughs to make sure New Yorkers have a protected, satisfying summer time outdoors.
“New York Metropolis is the best metropolis on this planet to be a child, and immediately, we’re going to make it even higher by making it simpler for our youngsters to play near house,“ stated Mayor Adams. “Immediately, we’re delivering on one other certainly one of our State of the Metropolis commitments by placing 20,000 extra New Yorkers inside a 10-minute stroll of inexperienced areas.
“Our faculties are house to unimaginable playgrounds, areas that shouldn’t be locked away after the college day or when the college yr ends, particularly in neighborhoods with out plenty of public inexperienced areas — and now fewer of them can be,“ he added. “We’ve to maintain our metropolis a spot the place everybody can elevate a household, and this announcement is one other method we’re supporting households throughout the 5 boroughs.”
“Entry to playgrounds is about extra than simply leisure play; it’s about constructing stronger, more healthy communities the place college students can develop their social-emotional expertise and construct wholesome train habits,“ stated NYCPS Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “By persevering with funding in these areas, we’re offering our youngsters and households with protected, welcoming environments to attach, be bodily energetic, and thrive.”
“Free, accessible public areas like our parks and these playgrounds make our metropolis safer, extra stunning, and extra livable,“ stated NYC Parks Commissioner Rodriguez-Rosa. “We’re so grateful to our companions at New York Metropolis Public Faculties, who will proceed to take care of and straight handle these areas as they open to the general public.
“We’re happy with our work increasing public area entry all through the 5 boroughs, and I thank Mayor Adams for his dedication to investing in our shared inexperienced areas and public realm,“ she added.
“Having a protected place close to house to play together with your youngster isn’t a luxurious for New York households — it’s a necessity,“ stated Chief Public Realm Officer Ya-Ting Liu. “Each neighborhood deserves entry to public area inside strolling distance, which is why we’re excited to open 11 extra schoolyards to the general public after hours. This enlargement brings 20,000 extra New Yorkers nearer to a park — and it’s precisely the sort of turnkey answer that makes New York a extra family-friendly metropolis.“
As of July 1, the mayor stated 11 college websites will open each day from 8 a.m to nightfall, including to the greater than 300 current college yards already open after hours as playgrounds to the general public.
In Might 2025, Mayor Adams kicked off We Outdoors Summer time and introduced a brand new effort to rework vacant heaps into greenspace. Simply final month, he introduced new public loos in parks throughout the 5 boroughs, the opening of public swimming pools with elevated lifeguard staffing ranges, the return of Grownup Lap Swim, and the enlargement of free Study to Swim programming.
In Might, the Adams administration additionally introduced $13 million in funding for youth programming, investing in initiatives to assist at-risk youth, justice-involved New Yorkers, and folks residing in neighborhoods with excessive charges of violence.
