The year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, was one of fear and isolation. However, through the chaos of quarantine and lockdown, New Yorkers still found ways to engage in community. Some joined virtual book clubs, some moved home with family, and many engaged in outdoor, COVID-safe events. Through this project, I aim to explore how the NYC Parks and Recreation Department helped facilitate community building during 2020.
To do so, I accessed the NYC Park Special Events Data from NYC Open Data. This data records every event facilitated by the NYC Parks Public Program’s division of the Parks and Recreation Department. Variables recorded include the date and time of the event, the location, the location type (whether that be a park, a recreation center, playground, etc), the event type and category, event name, targeted audience, and the group name of the facilitating organization. The data spans from 2002 to present day (although only a few entries exist for 2002, then the year jumps to 2017.) It is important to note that this data set reflects events that were planned and permitted by a governmental organization. There are many New Yorkers, who when asked to think of community, may imagine very different events such as family barbecues, block parties, and other events that would not appear in a dataset. The type of people who attend events such as NYC Parks Special Events may not be a diverse representation of New Yorkers. Therefore, this project’s scope is limited.
When looking at the number of Special Events planned from 2018 to 2024, one might expect to see a dip in 2020. However, these events spiked to a total of 4,914! The NYC Parks Public Programs Division was hard at work during this time.
When we look at the amount of people attending these events from 2018 to 2020, we see a much more familiar trend in which people are not attending as many events in 2020. One can assume this was due to lockdown and attendee number restrictions due to COVID-19.
Zooming in to 2020 only, it becomes clear that the planned events and attendance followed the exact same trend, rapidly growing after the first round of restrictions were lifted in early June.
But what were New Yorkers doing in 2020 to get out of the house? What types of NYC Parks Special events were they attending? In the graph below, we can see that after not attending a single event in April during lockdown, the lull was broken by a single fitness event located in Staten Island. After that, when restrictions were lifted and weather warmed up, New Yorkers attended many more events that mostly fell under the category of ‘Nature’ and ‘Fitness’.
How does this compare to earlier, more predictable years? In 2019, the story is quite different. Most New Yorkers attended family festivals and arts/culture events. Performances were also attended much more frequently.
While New Yorkers may have been missing out on art, performance, and festivals during the pandemic, they were connecting more with nature, and attempting to stay fit in such unprecedented conditions.
It may come as no surprise that New Yorkers attended NYC Parks Special Events in open air spaces such as parks and playgrounds during 2020. This allowed people to social distance and be less at risk for spreading COVID-19. Parks, hosting 56.74% of attendees in 2020, were clearly crucial to community during this tragic year.
The NYC Parks that contributed to the Special Events planned in 2020 can be seen in the map below. These parks were a beacon of light and community in such a dark time of isolation. With National Park budgets being slashed by the current administration, it is important to remember why parks are worth fighting for.
