Of all the barriers mayors and their small cities face in creating equitable outdoor access for all their residents, the single largest challenge is access to funding for park construction.  

While we know that parks contribute significantly to physical and mental health, community stability, and environmental sustainability, funding for parks has always been too scarce. The government grants that are available are complicated, competitive, and hard to use even when secured. This funding has long been out of reach for our cities. Now, as the federal government makes cuts to so many programs that benefit struggling cities, public dollars are all the more precious. 

NCP responded by accelerating our efforts to raise park capital. And safeguarding past awards.  

In 2025, we raised $7.5 million in new construction capital for six projects. A particular triumph was securing $4.4 million from NYS’s Green Resiliency Grant program for Mount Vernon – a city with a long history of environmental injustice – to harness the renovation of its Brush Park to manage stormwater in ever worsening flash flooding events.  

Another highlight was our partnership with the US Soccer Foundation, which donated a “mini pitch” to our green schoolyard program in Jersey City, anchoring the transformation of PS 17 from cracked asphalt to dynamic play space.  

With this year’s funding, secured, NCP has raised a total of $64 million in park capital construction monies for our cities.  

NCP is led by a team that has deep experience in crafting public private partnerships, in all kinds of economic cycles, including our founder Rose Harvey and our managing director LoriJeane Moody. In the years ahead, we will explore all options to ensure that high quality urban open spaces get built.