During this 12-episode podcast series NYC Parks has looked at the COVID-19 era of 2020-2021 through the lens of interviews conducted during the Oral History Project in 2022. For the first 11 shows we highlighted some of the more than 100 Parkies that volunteered to tell their stories. For our final show, we welcome Commissioner Sue Donoghue to the podcast studio to tell us her views on the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation today, and how the Agency stands in the wake of the pandemic.

Commissioner Donoghue was appointed in February 2022. From 2014 until 2022, she served as President of the Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization that operates the park in partnership with the City of New York, and the Prospect Park Administrator. Commissioner Donoghue previously worked in Parks during the Bloomberg administration, and one of the many projects she was involved in was the McCarren Park Play Center, where we record the podcast.

In this episode, Commissioner Donoghue recounts her experience in the pandemic, and how the Agency has grown and changed over her tenure. She also shines a spotlight on some of the new programs and initiatives that NYC Parks is undertaking that will make the Agency stronger in the months and years to come.

Our podcast thanks you for listening and supporting our show. As Commissioner Donoghue says, “See you in the parks.”

This episode captures the memories of New York City Parks Department members as they recall the time period of social unrest during the COVID-19 crisis. Calls for social justice followed the deaths of Breonna Taylor in March 2020 in Louisville and George Floyd in May 2020 in Minneapolis. During the first wave of the pandemic, nationwide protests took place, with many turning to NYC Parks properties to make their voices heard. During this time the agency response included listening sessions with staff to hear their stories, and a program to rename Parks’ properties to honor and remember Black history.

Today our guests recall the era of social unrest in New York, and the groundswell of the social justice movement that often starts and ends on parkland. Our guests today are:

• Former NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver;
• Assistant Commissioner for Community Outreach and Partnership Development Karina Smith;
• Urban Park Ranger Woo Sung Park;
• Van Cortlandt Park Administrator Stephanie Ehrlich.

We record our shows in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at McCarren Park Play Center in the Media Education Lab. Our team is using the Media Lab and Parks volunteers to share our history with listeners, presenting some of the more than 100 oral history interviews conducted with Parkies.

On this episode we are focusing on one topic: trees. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NYC Parks teams that work to preserve the green spaces of New York faced challenges of working during the crisis, just like all of us. There also was a destructive windstorm that demolished thousands of trees, that added to the incredible workload. By focusing on this one area of the Parks Department, we will learn more about the work that continues today on our urban forest.

Today our guests all work with trees and green space:

• Jennifer Greenfeld, Deputy Commissioner for Environment and Planning
• Jillian Naveh, Communications Liaison for Forestry Horticulture & Natural Resources Group
• Franklin Sosa-Velasquez, Forestry Supervisor
• Lea Thali, Stewardship Community Coordinator
• Phillip Walker, Manhattan Park Supervisor

We record our shows in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at McCarren Park Play Center in the Media Education Lab. Our team is using the Media Lab and Parks volunteers to share our history with listeners, presenting some of the more than 100 oral history interviews conducted with Parkies.