Yekaterina (Kate) Gluzberg works with Partnerships for Parks and wants people like you to use your local parks more and take care of them when you do! See what you can do to become more involved in your local parks.
Q: What does Partnerships for Parks do?
A: Partnerships for Parks is a program of City Parks Foundation and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation founded in 1995. Because active and involved communities are essential to vibrant parks and neighborhoods, and to a healthy city, Partnerships for Parks helps New Yorkers work together to make neighborhood parks thrive.
Q: How does your job connect people to the environment?
A: As an outreach coordinator, I work with community members to help them get involved in their local park; I work with volunteers to coordinate park beautification projects and help them to set up events. By simply getting more people outdoors to enjoy their local park, I encourage them to interact with NYC's natural environment.
Q: What types of programs do you run?
A: My job is to empower community leaders to run programs and to connect them to valuable resources in the area. For example, if a group is interested in participating in a park stewardship project, I will coordinate a site visit between a group representative and the park supervisor or manager to discuss project details. I can then help with outreach and provide tools and other supplies for the project. I can also help to connect people to events put on by both City Parks Foundation, like free concerts, dance, theater and sports and education programs, and by the Department of Parks and Recreation, like Street Games.
Q: What are the top five ways that residents can get more involved in local parks?
A:
1) Check out the Partnerships for Parks website www.itsmypark.org for ideas.
2) Find out if there is a volunteer group in the park and ask to volunteer with them.
3) Join one of hundreds of projects city-wide during Its My Park Day. Check our website for details.
4) If you are interested in organizing a volunteer project for a group in your local park in East Harlem, please contact me for help: 212.408.0283 or by email at yekaterina.gluzberg@parks.nyc.gov.
5) Let your voice be heard in the community - speak to your community board and council member about ways that you would like your parks to be improved.
Q: Any parting words?
A: If you are a resident of East Harlem and you are interested in improving your parks, talk to other people in your community to see if you could form a Friends group. Then contact me with your ideas, so that we can work on the improvements together.