NYC Council eyes expanded park access, more fountains, indoor basketball options

New York City Councilmember Gale Brewer said it’s frustrating to walk past school playgrounds that are locked in the evenings and on weekends — especially when families are desperate for open space in their neighborhoods.

Now, Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, is sponsoring legislation to require the city to create an annual plan to expand public access to school playgrounds, including by keeping them open after school and on weekends.

The bill is part of a broader package on recreational access that the City Council is set to consider at a hearing Wednesday. Other measures include Brewer's proposal to add more public drinking fountains, and one from Councilmember Kevin Riley of the Bronx to expand access to indoor gyms during bad weather.

The legislation comes a few months after a city report found that it would cost $49 million a year to extend schoolyard hours — turning what was once a budget estimate into a growing political priority. Mayor Eric Adams included a proposal to expand hours at 11 schoolyards in his latest State of the City address, saying the change would benefit 20,000 people.

Brewer told Gothamist she has been working on this kind of legislation “for decades.” Her office commissioned a digital map showing schoolyards that could be opened to the public during evenings and weekends.

"We need to get people off the street,” she said. “We need people to be exercising and we need people to do it conveniently. It is so frustrating for me to walk by and see this locked half-a-block-big space with nobody in it all summer.”

Each of the bills has the support of at least a dozen councilmembers. Riley’s proposal to expand indoor gym access has 26 cosponsors, a majority of the 51-member Council.

Adams’ office did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on the legislation.