City Council to Study Shadows over Parkland

By DAISY WU

The city’s parks have an shadowy future due to the growing number of tall buildings being constructed along their edges.

At least that’s the fear expressed at a hearing of the City Council Committee on Parks and Recreation on Thursday.

“Our streets have become narrow dark wind tunnels because of the shadows,” said Olive Freud, president of the Committee for Environmentally Sound Development.

In recent years, the number of skyscrapers has multiplied, especially with the construction of luxury apartment towers. According to the NYC Construction Outlook 2013 – 2015, construction projects increased to $37 billion in 2015 from a $33.4 billion in 2014. Most of the luxury residential apartments are centered near the outskirts of Central Park for their unrestricted views, according to council members.

Committee Chairman Mark Levine proposed a bill to create a task force to study the effects of shade from large buildings on public parkland.

Most areas received only about 4-6 hours of sunlight during the months of March to October, according to the the city Department of Parks and Recreation. Some areas of the city are drenched in darkness throughout the day and in winter months, temperatures in the shade can be 20 degrees below the normal temperature, according to Levine.

“Shadows can devalue a park due to a lack of direct sunlight exposure for people and nature,” according to a Council document.

“The creation of this task force to monitor this issue will go a long way in helping to protect the sunlight available in neighborhood green spaces,” said Tupper Thomas, executive director of New Yorkers for Parks.