mowotlarx t1_j6wtl0e wrote on February 2, 2023 at 1:30 PM

Reply to comment by King-of-New-York in New tree plantings in NYC fall to lowest level in 15 years by King-of-New-York

The kicker is Parks does have a lot of in-house designers, engineers and gardeners. There's no reason any city money should be given to private contractors when we could just increase the budget and fulfill projects with in-house staff. The real issue (outside of city staff fleeing and not being rehired) is procurement. Supplies are increasingly expensive and the city has pretty strict rules when it comes to who they can buy from.

King-of-New-York OP t1_j6wx2pn wrote on February 2, 2023 at 1:59 PM

Procurement is definitely an issue that needs addressing.

mowotlarx t1_j6wxs97 wrote on February 2, 2023 at 2:04 PM

DOT is having the same issues with gathering supplies to do repairs. It's hard enough to get what they need in a timely manner, but they're also being asked to use the cheapest materials and solutions possible (hence why we almost never have fully protected bike lanes when they know we should).

Karrick t1_j71zkew wrote on February 3, 2023 at 2:34 PM

Even at pre-pandemic-staffing-cut levels Parks had nowhere near enough staff to pick up all the tree work that is cintracted out. The backlog on tree inspections, for example, was enormous when I left. That's not a knock on Forestry, there's just too few of them for the whole city... just like the rest of the Parks department.