"Tapping Real Estate to Help Fund NYC’s Parks"
A Center for an Urban Future Policy Symposium

Tuesday, March 31, 2026
8:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. 
The Greene Space 
44 Charlton Street

To attend in-person, RSVP via this link.
To watch the livestream, RSVP via this link. 

Confirmed speakers include (more panelists to be announced):

• Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Chair, Committee on Oversight & Investigations
• Lynn Bodnar Kelly, Executive Director, New York Restoration Project
• Majora Carter, Real Estate Developer, Urban Revitalization Consultant, and Author
• Katie Denny Horowitz, Executive Director, North Brooklyn Parks Alliance
• Claire Weisz, Founding Principal, WXY

This forum will explore opportunities to tap one of the city’s greatest sources of wealth—real estate—to sustainably fund parks. Fresh ideas for generating new recurring revenue for parks are needed more than ever. For decades, city funding has failed to keep pace with the maintenance and operations needs of New York's parks, and the city’s widening budget deficit may make it even harder for city leaders to boost public investment.

Panelists will discuss concrete strategies for channeling real estate value into recurring support for parks—and the steps policymakers will need to take to turn these ideas into reality. The conversation will explore several promising approaches, including density bonuses tied to investment in parks, value capture linked to the Interborough Express, targeted property-related surcharges, and new parks improvement districts. Panelists will also examine models from New York and other cities that have used similar tools to sustain parks and other essential public infrastructure—and discuss how to ensure new revenues are invested equitably across the five boroughs. The forum builds on a series of reports by CUF, supported by the NYC Green Fund, outlining opportunities to develop new recurring revenue streams for New York City’s parks. 

Details
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
8:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. (doors open at 8; program begins at 8:45)
@The Greene Space 
44 Charlton Street (between 6th Avenue and Varick Street)

To attend in-person, please RSVP via this link. 
To watch the livestream, please RSVP via this link. 

We are committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations in our programs. For questions or requests regarding access and accommodation, please contact Sophia Tumolo at [email protected] at least 72 hours in advance of the program.

This event was made possible thanks to generous support from the NYC Green Fund. We are also grateful for general support from The Clark Foundation and the Altman Foundation, support from Fisher Brothers Foundation for CUF's Middle Class Jobs Project, and ongoing support from a number of other philanthropic funders.