Brooklyn Borough President

BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT MARTY MARKOWITZ AND NYPA PRESENT
TH!NK VEHICLE TO CITY PARKS FOUNDATION AND THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & RECREATION FOR THEIR “CATALYST FOR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS” INITIATIVE IN RED HOOK

Photographs by Kathryn Kirk

In Photo: Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham poses with Brooklyn’s Th!nk vehicle and invited guests. Pictured from left to right: Red Hook Catalyst Coordinator Josh Slingerland; Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham; City Parks Foundation Executive Director David Rivel; and New York Power Authority President and CEO Eugene Zeltmann.

Electrically powered rechargeable car will enhance local revitalization effort.

On Tuesday, May 4th, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Eugene Zeltmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), presented the gift of a Ford Th!nk neighbor electric vehicle to David Rivel, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation (CPF), on behalf of CPF and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. The vehicle will be used in the Red Hook area as part of extensive work undertaken through the “Catalyst for Neighborhood Parks” initiative, a $25 million public/private partnership focusing intensive resources in sixteen New York City parks.

Throughout the next year, the environmentally-friendly rechargeable vehicle will be used to increase the amount and variety of activities at the Red Hook Park and Recreation Area and at Coffey Park, and to engage neighborhood youth in park programs. Catalyst Coordinator Joshua Slingerland will collaborate with local organizations and businesses as part of the "Catalyst" initiative in the Red Hook area, working together with community partners to revitalize the neighborhood by developing a vision to improve the neighborhood's ample parkland and open spaces.

“Red Hook needs a vehicle to help get its local parks into the fast lane," said Borough President Markowitz. "With the Th!nk vehicle, the Red Hook Catalyst Initiative will have better access to local residents and businesses, in the most energy-efficient and cost-efficient way possible. The Th!nk vehicle is better for the environment, and it's better for Brooklyn.”

“We are grateful for Marty Markowitz’s generous donation, and for the New York Power Authority’s vital role as well. Red Hook is an area of New York City with tremendous potential to benefit from the intensive resources City Parks Foundation and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation is providing, and the Th!nk Vehicle will greatly help us in our efforts,” said David Rivel of the City Parks Foundation.

“Catalyst for Neighborhood Parks” is a four-year, $25 million initiative of City Parks Foundation and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation to provide capital improvements, new programming and additional staff to sixteen neighborhood parks in four areas of New York City – Astoria and the Long Island City waterfront in Queens; Harlem in Manhattan; Highbridge in the Bronx; and Red Hook in Brooklyn. The sixteen parks, selected in part for their potential for improvement, will receive $5 million in private funds raised by the City Parks Foundation (CPF), as well as benefit from an anticipated $20 million in capital projects that are either already funded by local and federal elected officials or expected over the course of the four-year project. The initiative is coordinated by Partnerships for Parks, a joint program of City Parks Foundation and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

Building on the Power Authority’s $116 million program of energy efficiency projects in Brooklyn, this Th!nk neighbor electric vehicle was donated by the NYPA as part of its statewide Neighborhood Electric Vehicle Donation. Under Governor George Pataki’s leadership, the NYPA has become a national leader in promoting clean electric transportation, and has helped to put more than 700 electric and hybrid electric vehicles on the road.

“With every mile traveled, the Th!nk neighbor electric vehicle will make the air cleaner for the people of Red Hook”, said NYPA President and CEO Zeltmann. “It will also help to benefit our economy and strengthen our national security by reducing dependence on foreign oil.”
The Th!nk neighbor vehicle is a road-worthy, zero-emissions electric vehicle that can travel up to 25 mph. It is recharged using a regular 110-volt household outlet and can travel up to 30 miles before recharging.