As we deal with the first heatwave of 2024, we're particularly thankful for having access to the waterfront green spaces that help mitigate the worst of the heat. In NYC, over 7 million residents face temperatures 8° hotter than the average surrounding temperature due to the design of the city.
Unlike buildings and other dark hardscape that absorb heat and raise the surrounding temperature, the trees and plants in parks help reflect light, keeping the surrounding areas cooler. Shade from trees keep pavement from getting as hot, and plants also absorb heat through a process called evapotranspiration, which is similar to sweating where water evaporates from leaves, cooling the plants and absorbing energy from the sun.
The increase in heat caused by built surfaces is called the urban heat island effect, and it's one of the key reasons parks are so important to communities, especially as temperatures continue to rise. You can see how large the effect is in NYC in this map from the NYC Council, where the parks in Hunters Point and Queensbridge result in significantly cooler areas than the surrounding buildings. Yesterday afternoon, measuring in the sun in Gordon Triangle on Vernon Blvd and 44th Drive the temperature was 3.3° cooler than standing on the sidewalk on Vernon between 45th Ave and 45th Rd a block away, and in the sun on the great lawn in Gantry Plaza State Park and the lawn next to the marsh in Hunter's Point South Park the temperature was more than 7° cooler than standing on the sidewalk on Vernon.
While parks and street trees play an essential role in combating heat, NYC Parks is facing budget cuts that would leave them with fewer staff than any time since the 1970s despite having more parkland to support. Please support the efforts to push back against the $55M cut to parks at playfair.nyc.