insight


as head of the new york city parks department, adrian benepe presided over the most ambitious transformation of public space since the age of robert moses. now he’s turning his eye for urban innovation to cities nationwide.


Adrian Benepe knows parks.


As a high school student in the summer of 1973, Benepe took a job cleaning bathrooms and locker rooms for the City of New York’s park system. It was the begin- ning of a working relationship that would last, on and off, for nearly 40 years. Benepe went on to serve as one of the department’s first park rangers, eventually helping to run the ranger program, then the press office, the division of natural resources, and the division of art and antiquities. In 2002, he was serving as commissioner of Manhattan’s parks when newly elected Mayor Michael Bloomberg tapped him for the department’s top job—parks and recreation commissioner for the entire city of New York. For the next decade, Benepe oversaw a system of 29,000


acres, as many as 10,000 employees, and more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds, and recreation facilities during a tenure


28 · LAND&PEOPLE · SPRING/SUMMER 2013


The New York Times characterized as “the most ambitious program of building and refurbishing New York City’s parks since the era of Robert Moses.” Under Benepe’s leadership, the city created and restored parks in every borough, includ- ing the High Line in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge Park. In 2012, New York magazine named Benepe number 58 on its list of 100 reasons to love New York, crediting him for “the transformation of parks from places you avoid to places you go.” Last June, Commissioner Benepe announced he was leav- ing the park system to join The Trust for Public Land as direc- tor of city park development. In this interview, he reflects on lessons learned in New York—and the vital role of parks in creating and sustaining livable cities.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68