Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s $124.7 billion spending plan unveiled this week includes a plan to cut 100 uniformed officers’ jobs patrolling the city’s green spaces this summer, The Post has learned.
The proposed budget would effectively cut more than a third of the roughly 300 boots-on-the-ground Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) staff for the entire city, critics said – and create a massive gap in the city’s public safety system.
“Every neighborhood park would be affected,” Adam Ganser, executive director of the New Yorkers for Parks advocacy group, fumed to The Post.
“Safety in our parks is a critical quality of life issue,” he added, “which is why we are calling on the admin to baseline the existing 100 PEP officers who will otherwise lose their jobs in July, and for the council to fund an additional 100 PEP officers.”
The uniformed PEP officers, who function within the Parks department instead of the NYPD, are often tasked with issuing summonses for quality-of-life infractions such as dumping and vandalism across more than 1,500 parks and playgrounds in the Big Apple.
They also provide additional security at hundreds of events in the Big Apple each year, including the New York City marathon, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the U.S. Open, as well as festivals and concerts.
Other responsibilities include returning lost children to families; providing information about Parks rules and protecting wildlife and facilities, according to the agency’s website.
“Cutting 100 PEP officers at a time when our parks are already dealing with quality-of-life issues, illegal activity, and growing wildlife management concerns is the wrong move,” said Council member Phil Wong, who recently sponsored legislation urging the city to develop a plan to protect hundreds of urban species living inside parks.
“These officers play an important role in keeping our parks safe,” he added. “Reducing their presence will only make those challenges harder to manage citywide.”
The news comes as the city reported more than 1,100 crime incidents at Big Apple parks in 2025, and nearly 600 311 calls referred to Parks Enforcement Patrol officers — for issues ranging from dogs illegally off-leash, smoking, blocked entrances and unlicensed vending.
The park with the most total 311 calls last year was Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, where both NYPD cops and PEP officers responded to 1,708 reports. Trailing behind was Flushing Meadows Corona Park with 635 calls, followed by Prospect Park (309), Fort Tryon Park (291) and Washington Square Park (284).
“We could really use more of those [officers], not less,” said lifelong Harlem resident Joan, 79, who spoke with The Post at Marcus Garvey Park Wednesday. “[The] biggest problem around here is people killing each other and those Park officers actually help.
“They see [fighting] happening, and can stop it before it gets out of hand.”
“The radios up too loud, or stopping the fights, they’re good for that: they keep that in check,” said parkgoer Joey, 72. “They’re just like a presence there, keeping things chill.
“Get a few more of them, [that] would probably be a good idea,” he said.
Stephanie, 19, of Harlem, added that late-night partying gets “out of control” when the officers aren’t around — and without the green fleet, “it won’t be safe for the kids to come … after school.”
The budget slash would also cut 15 GreenThumb workers who support nearly 500 community gardens across the city — which are only available to the public when a staffer is around to unlock an urban oasis.
Despite the City Council including funding for the positions in a budget response to the admin released in April, the positions were not included in Monday’s proposed executive budget, a Council source confirmed to The Post.
The source vowed the Council plans to continue advocating for the funding in the coming weeks, as well as call for PEP funding to be baselined to avoid the same annual budget dance.
“In NYC, the parks are our backyard, which is why Mayor Mamdani yesterday announced a historic $15 million annual investment to support our Parks Department,” a City Hall rep told The Post Tuesday, adding the mayor is “reviewing” the need for PEP officer funding during budget process.
Several electeds told The Post they were hopeful the spare change to reinstate the officers would be found somewhere.
“We are continuing to fight for the remaining $12 million needed to complete the full baseline for these 100 PEP officers,” said Council member Ty Hankerson, who chairs the Parks committee. “PEP officers play a critical role in keeping our parks safe, welcoming, and accessible, and we will continue pushing for the staffing and resources our parks ecosystem needs.”
“To the mayor’s credit, he has already restored $15M for Parks maintenance workers, rangers, and forestry staff to improve conditions in our parks,” said Council member Lincoln Restler, who previously blamed “harmful” budget cuts under former Mayor Eric Adams for mounting refuse and rat issues at his districts’ parks.
“I am confident that we will fully fund Parks Enforcement Patrol workers in the final budget in June.”
Read the full article here
