New Field Concessions at Randall's Island, Same Community Response

Randall’s Island is considered a haven to New York City sports enthusiasts. With more than 270 acres of public parkland, residents from nearby Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, can enjoy scenic waterfront views, practice their golf swing at the driving range, or watch world-class athletes compete, like Olympic gold medalist, Usain Bolt, at Icahn Stadium.

Since 2007, Randall’s Island has been undergoing a major facelift. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation along with the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation embarked upon a major reconstruction project of 66 new sports fields.

The sports field project, anticipated to be complete by the fall of 2010, nearly 75 percent already constructed, includes luxurious features like, artificial turf and irrigation systems for year-round usage, lights for night games, and designated parking lots.

But a controversial concession proposal by the Parks Department, RISF, and 20 independent Manhattan schools, that restricts use of the newly renovated fields to the private schools, has been placed back on the table by the public-private partnership.

Click on the Map of Randall's Island to see what's at stake on the island.

In 2008, A State Supreme Court Judge, Shirley Kornreich, ruled that the original proposal did not follow the proper Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure, and quashed the concession agreement.

The original agreement approved by the Franchise Concession and Review Committee in 2007, reserved 66 percent of the fields during the afterschool hours, spring and fall, to private schools only.

Local residents, public schools, and community organizations were only left with 33 percent of the new fields during the same hours, and 10 percent of the fields was left open to any eligible applicant.

Now the Parks Department has reached a new agreement with the independent schools and RISF. Although the proposal is still being negotiated, the FCRC expects to vote on the new proposal by early summer, said Christian Stover of the FCRC.

In exchange for $2.2 million per year, with $400,000 to pay for maintenance and upkeep of the new fields, the 20 private schools would receive guaranteed permits for 50 percent of the fields from 3-6 p.m. during the spring and fall.

Public schools and community-based organization would receive guaranteed permits for 40 percent of the fields during the afterschool hours, and the remaining 10 percent would still be left to other applicants.

Manhattan Borough President, Scott Stringer, who sits on the FCRC with Comptroller Bill Thompson and five others appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, was the only dissenter of the original concession.

However, he has proposed an alternative plan he calls “20/20,” where 50 percent of the fields would be reserved for public use. To even the playing field, Stringer’s plan also calls for the city and RISF to provide transportation and resources to 20 public schools to use the island and develop their own athletic programs.

“For every private school that has the opportunity to use a field, we should do as much as possible to help the public schools have the same opportunity,” stated Stringer at a public hearing. “And its not just about permits, and its not just about access, because we all know communities in the South Bronx and East Harlem do not have the same resources to create school programs that private schools have.”

Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, whose district includes Randall’s Island, said the new proposal and Stringer’s plan has made some progress, but added that she has philosophical concerns over the privatization of public parkland.

“It is an issue of access and equity in my eyes,” said Mark-Viverito at a public hearing. “We believe in public-private partnerships, and that is important in this city, but we have to ensure that those public-private partnerships don’t create inequities within our communities.”

One issue of access remains transportation to and from the island. Currently the only way to get to the island is by driving over the Triborough Bridge, or walking across the footbridge at 103rd Street.

Mark-Viverito, co-chair of the Randall’s Island Community Task Force, said she is willing to commit funds to provide local community and school groups transportation to the island starting in July.

The Department of Education, RISF, and the Parks Department also stated their intentions to commit funds for three shuttle buses, at the first public hearing to discuss the proposal. The buses would increase access for public school teams during the after school hours, stated Cas Holloway, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor of Operations.

Hear Geoffrey Croft's take on the process and environmental impact of the new plan.

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Although elected officials have made efforts to increase access to Randall’s Island, East Harlem residents and park advocates who initiated the lawsuit against the FCRC and City of New York continue to feel shut out of the process and the park.

Mrs. Katie Harris, President of the Wagner House Tenant Association in East Harlem, said, “I’m very concerned. Just 10 percent to East Harlem and everybody else, we have a city within a city.”

Marina Ortiz, founder of East Harlem Preservation and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, felt the new proposal did not address issues of community involvement that the judge raised.

“They are dancing around rules and regulations to fit outside of the required ULURP,” said Ortiz. “We are looking closely at several options. And should we decide to pursue another lawsuit, we will make that publicly known.”

Geoffrey Croft, the president of New York City Park Advocates, said he did not see much of a difference between the initial proposal and the latest one.

“Allowing any one group access to what is supposed to be public park land is absurd and just bad policy,” said Croft. “All communities deserve access; rich, poor, black, white, and everyone in between.”

But Lou Schlanger, athletic director at the South Bronx Campus high schools and director of the Randall’s Island Kids Summer Camp, said the improvements to the park are what are most important.

“Nobody would have anything without the foundations initiatives. The island still would have been a sand box with broken glass and everything,” said Schlanger.

“Whatever the deal is,” he added, “It is a win for everybody.”