Photo_Troy Farmer
I am a few days late in noting the nomination of former TPLer Rose Harvey to be New York’s Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.
Newly elected Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement last week, but it took me a while to track down these photos of Rose playing basketball with staff and students at the dedication of the new playground at New York City’s P.S. 15 back in 2008.
Congratulations are definitely in order—to Rose, of course, but also to the people of New York. They have signed a seasoned player who knows how to inspire a team, call defenses and offenses, and go for the score.
Rose joined TPL when the organization was little more than a decade old and helped shape its mission for nearly 30 years. Her influence was most felt in the mid-Atlantic states, where she ran TPL’s programs during crucial years.
From the governor’s press release:
[At TPL] she oversaw all real estate acquisitions, urban park design and developments, managed the finances of a $20 million annual operating budget, and closed between $50 and $75 million worth of land and parks transactions each year across 8 states – a total of nearly $1 billion and more than a thousand new and enhanced parks, gardens and playgrounds in underserved neighborhoods in New York City, Newark, N.J. and Baltimore. She has also established large landscape woodlands and natural areas throughout New York State and the Mid-Atlantic region.
Rose Harvey at the groundbreaking for Nat Turner Park, Newark Photo: Seth Sherman
One interesting commentary on Rose’s appointment comes from Henry Stern, who served 15 years as New York City’s commissioner of parks and recreation and now writes the entertaining and informative New York Civic newsletter about state and local policy matters.
I had the pleasure of working with Rose Harvey . . . and she is first-rate. Governor Cuomo deserves praise for appointing her. Too often in the past, parks commissioners have been chosen on the bases of celebrity, campaign contributions or cronyism.
Stern then goes on to introduce a note of reality about the job ahead, going into some detail about the role of New York’s park s department within state government.
The state parks system has never received the attention or funding it deserves. This is not the year to expect more government money, so achievements are likely to result from the kind of partnerships Ms. Harvey has pioneered.
By selecting Ms. Harvey, Governor Cuomo has taken a great step forward. Now comes the hard part: achieving significant results for a neglected system in an era of scarcity.
Photo: Yola Manakhov
What more can we say about Rose, except that she is an inspiration to work with. Also that she’s a good person to have on your team when you need to go for the basket.
