It may feel like winter, but we're already thinking of next summer! This morning, we held a rally at Union Square asking NYers to answer the call to become a City lifeguard. Building a strong team of lifeguards is crucial for keeping our beaches & pools safe. Signing up has never been easier or more rewarding! Accept the challenge: nyc.gov/parks/lifeguards

Thank you to our Brooklyn Forestry team and New York City Fire Department for their work clearing up the last of the remains from the brush fire in Prospect Park this past Friday. With drought conditions creating dry leaves and brush, this small but mighty fire spread through approximately 2 acres of English ivy, Japanese knotweed, and forest debris. Thank you to Climber & Pruners Santos Mesa and Clinton O'Neil for helping with tree removal to allow FDNY to extinguish the fire. In the coming weeks, we will continue to meet with Prospect Park Alliance to assess any damage. With this in mind, we remind all New Yorkers that grilling is currently banned in all our parks for the time being to avoid any future fire incidents spreading throughout our greenspaces. Please follow the city's Drought Watch guidelines in the following weeks and follow https://nyc.gov/notify to receive emergency alerts from Notify NYC. Stay safe!

With Veterans Day just around the corner, our Monuments Conservation Crew has been hard at work in all five boroughs performing annual care at veterans memorials of all sizes. From high traffic areas like Father Duffy Square to smaller neighborhood parks, our Crew ensures these monuments are clean and cared for. Annual care on all of our monuments not only helps them stay beautiful, it also keeps them well preserved for years to come. The Monuments Conservations Crew travels all throughout our city year round, performing care like pressure washing, waxing, repointing, and lacquering.

This weekend marked a historic planting - Beach plums have returned! Working with the Lenape Center & Friends of Inwood Hill Park, First Deputy Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa & Manhattan Borough Commissioner Tricia Shimamura joined volunteers in restoring this shrub, once revered & cared for by the Lenape Peoples, to the lands & waters we now know as New York City.

“You can’t be a person who’s in conflict and you’re trying to resolve conflict,” she said. “It’s hard, and because that work is hard, you have to be centered. You have to nourish your soul. You have to have your head on straight.” Meet Iyana Titus, our Assistant Commissioner of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Learn more about her background, what drives her, and the work that she and her team are doing to make working at NYC Parks a place of understanding. https://lnkd.in/exAqYG9n

Want to know more about Vital Parks? Learn more about how we can equitably strengthen our city’s health, environment and communities through our parks system, and network with fellow Parks enthusiasts. Join us at upcoming meetings across the city, beginning next Monday in the Bronx. Visit https://on.nyc.gov/4eq6KkO for a complete schedule of events.

The Arsenal has gone purple for Go Purple Day! Across NY State, landmarks are raising awareness for and honoring survivors & victims of domestic violence for #DVAM2024. Check out NYC Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence for resources, programs, and more information on how you can get involved #NYCGoPurple

Welcome to the Wyckoff House Museum! Built around 1652, the original portion of the house is the oldest structure + the first officially designated landmark in New York state. Used as a working colonial farm until 1901, this home traces history through architectural alterations that mirrored the Wyckoff family’s own growth through the years. This week, a newly opened community space continues that tradition of growth on the farm! Check out the brand new space extending the museum’s important work bringing history to life in Brooklyn: wyckoffmuseum.org

All trees are good, but these are (officially) some of NYC's greatest! 🌳 🌲 After taking in over 270 public nominations, our committee of experts and thought leaders from prominent colleges and universities, civic institutions, authors, and arborists chose trees that best represent the diversity and significance of NYC’s urban forest. Today, we added 61 new trees to our list of 120 Great Trees, the first update in 40 years! These trees have witnessed history, are symbols, or are just plain cool! Explore the roster and uncover their stories: on.nyc.gov/GreatTrees

Every year, we join the NYC Parks Latino Society to celebrate Latine employees working across the five boroughs at our annual Alma Awards! From Environmental & Planning to ITT, our honorees demonstrate the wide reaching impact their contributions have to the vitality of Parks in the name of public service.