Morano asks who advocates for non-applicants in permit process

I don't want to take up all the time, so I'm going to turn it over to Councilmember Murano.

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Deputy Commissioner, for your testimony.

I want to start with something that I wouldn't have thought to ask you about, but for your testimony, something that I actually think is good news.

You said that fewer than 1% of special event permit applications are denied, and I'm certainly glad to hear Parks is generally willing to work with people rather than looking for reasons to tell them no.

Because obviously if you're a civic association or a veterans group, a youth group, whoever, or just a family trying to have an event in your neighborhood park, the last thing you need is another city bureaucracy making your life more difficult.

But the one question that I guess I never thought of is that statistic.

raises somewhat of a different question for me.

If the system is designed to get almost every applicant to yes, who in the process is representing the person who never submitted an application?

The applicant has somebody advocating for their event, obviously.

Who's advocating for the kid that shows up Saturday morning wanting to use the field or the senior who is walking the same path every morning?

Who's advocating for the family that shows up at the park and discovered that the place that they normally use isn't available?

Where does that person exist, if anywhere, in the permitting process?

So that's an excellent question, Council Member.

And, you know, it's something that we think about.

We really do rely on the public to tell us if there is, you know, if there's concerns about an event.

You know, generally that does happen.

It tends to be with bigger events.

You know, kind of the example of the kid who wants to use a field.

Most of, you know, admittedly it is separate from this office.

Anne and her colleagues do the special events.

Our other colleague, you know, Ken Conyers, does athletic fields and permits.

But I know in that system they do prioritize youth permits.

So in instances like that, if it's a field, chances are it's being used by a youth group.

And so they would, you know, for like baseball, it's harder to do kind of like a pickup game.

But that doesn't mean that someone wouldn't.

be there with a friend or parent just to kind of hit the ball around or play catch.

So we do want to strike a balance.

Certainly, you know, we also, you know, are in close contact with the borough permit offices who are, you know, they're not separate from the rest of the borough team.

So they're there with the borough commissioner.

They're there with, you know, the park managers.

And they're always talking about what they're seeing in their parks.

So, you know, it could come up through there.

It could also come up through the public calling us, either calling the borough office, either through 311, calling the special events office.