Gennaro urges digitized trail maps and near-shore water testing to boost park access and safety
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Summary
Council Member Gennaro introduced legislation requiring DPR to publish a digitized map of park trails and DEP to conduct near-shore water-quality testing at a minimum of 15 sites and publish results; he cited roughly 300 miles of trails (about 275 upgraded) and said testing would occur 5–20 feet from shore to inform future water-quality work.
Council Member Gennaro described two related bills: one requiring the Department of Parks and Recreation to publish a digital map of trails in city parks and another requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct water-quality testing at a minimum of 15 sites in New York City’s water bodies.
Gennaro said DPR maintains about 300 miles of trails across roughly 12,500 acres of parkland and that about 275 miles have been upgraded; the proposed online map would identify trails, amenities and whether a trail is temporarily offline for maintenance. On water quality, he said DEP would be asked to perform near-shore sampling—between 5 and 20 feet from the shoreline—to capture conditions where New Yorkers recreate (kayaking, canoeing, fishing) and to report the findings publicly on its website. Gennaro said the near-shore testing would help inform additional water-quality actions.
He described near-shore testing as a concession by DEP that would improve public knowledge of conditions in MS4 areas (which he said account for about 30% of the city) and support safer use of the city’s shoreline.
The items were introduced on the council agenda; the transcript does not record a final vote or adoption.
