Lentol wants next mayor to lower fees at parks
While Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota are presenting their cases to the public on who should be the city’s next mayor, one north Brooklyn lawmaker said he wants whoever is elected to give park users a break.
Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-Greenpoint-Wililamsburg) said he will call on the next mayor to decrease membership fees for city-operated athletic facilities, including city-run recreation centers, ball fields and tennis courts in public parks. The fees for recreational memberships increased in July 2011, Lentol said.
“These fee hikes are pricing people out of the means to lead a healthy life,” Lentol charged. “In these tough economic times disposable income is hard to come by and city rec centers have long been known to be the most affordable option,” he said.
The city’s Parks Department operates dozens of membership driven recreational centers in Brooklyn. The agency also requires groups to obtain permits to use ball fields in city parks for organized sports, such as little league baseball.