The New York Times on September 23rd reported that amidst the $1.5 billion budget cuts that Mayor Bloomberg “ordered” is a $6.5 million cut from the Parks Department. The cuts begin NOW in the current fiscal year which began July 1st and cover a two year period.
(No matter that, days prior, Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, said ‘not to worry” insuring us that they had “prepared” in advance for this downward turn in the financial sector.)
I have the perfect solution for Parks Commissioner Benepe. It seems to me that the answer lies in curtailing many of the unpopular aspects of the Washington Square Park “redesign.”
Already deemed high (based on the extensive unnecessary tweaking of the Park) at the projected $13 million cost, the budget for the project is now somewhere around $25-$30 million.
Here is an easy fix to the Parks Department’s dilemma of where to cut costs. It is the perfect way for the Parks Department to avoid firing workers and evade the further neglect of the parks themselves ** while ** providing the optimal opportunity to save face with the millions of New Yorkers and Village residents who, as they’ve learned of the City’s plan to overhaul this historic public space, ask themselves – WHY?
Voila! Instant easy fix. Let’s begin preparing the memo.