[1]
Editor's Note: Local Law No. 5-1996, adopted 7-18-1996, added
this Part A, title only.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
There shall be a Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation,
in which there shall be a Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Conservation
and a Parks, Recreation and Conservation Board. The Commissioner shall
be the head of the Department but shall not exercise supervisory authority
over the Board. The Commissioner shall be appointed by the Mayor and
shall serve at the pleasure of the Manager. The Commissioner shall
be a person with training and experience in the administration of
parks, recreation and conservation programs and shall have such other
qualifications as the Mayor shall deem necessary. The Commissioner
shall have the power and authority to appoint and remove officers
and employees therein.
There shall also be a Deputy Commissioner of Parks, Recreation
and Conservation who shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall serve
at the pleasure of the Mayor. (In the case of absence or disability
of the Commissioner or a vacancy in the office of Commissioner the
Deputy shall discharge the duties of the office of Commissioner until
the Commissioner returns, his or her disability ceases or the vacancy
is filled.) The Deputy is authorized by law to act generally for and
on behalf of the Commissioner.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Shall mean the Parks, Recreation and Conserva-tion Board.
Shall mean the Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Conservation.
Shall mean the Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation.
Shall mean and include all public parks, parkways, boulevards,
beaches, water rights, playgrounds, athletic fields, recreation centers,
open spaces and areas publicly owned and acquired for the conservation
of natural resources, including all buildings, structures, equipment
and appurtenances, also entrances and approaches thereto, and streets,
roads, docks and bridges between, to, in, through or connecting such
park or parks and parts thereof, and such other rights and appurtenances
as the Department shall utilize for its purposes, whether the same
be now or hereafter owned or acquired in fee or otherwise by the city,
or under the care and control of the city by lease, or otherwise,
for park purposes.
The Board shall consist of seven (7) members who shall be residents
of the city, to be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the
City Council. The Commissioner of Public Works and the Planning Director
shall be ex officio members of such Board but shall have no vote.
The seven (7) members shall be selected with a view to their demonstrated
interest in parks, recreation or the conservation of natural resources,
and, to the extent possible, shall be persons of diverse backgrounds
from different areas in the city.
The terms of the appointed members of the Board shall be three
(3) years, each to expire at the end of a calendar year, except that
of those first appointed one (1) shall be appointed to serve for one
(1) year, three (3) for two (2) years, and three (3) for three (3)
years, with their successors to be appointed for three-year terms,
as aforesaid.
Any vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same
manner in which the original appointment was made. The members of
the Board shall serve as such without compensation but shall be entitled
to receive their actual disbursements and expenses in performing the
duties of their office. The Board shall elect from its own members
a Chairman and Vice Chairman for a term of two (2) years and may from
time to time name such other officers as it deems necessary, except
that the first Chairman shall be appointed by the Mayor.
Except as otherwise provided by this act, the Commissioner shall
have and exercise all the powers and perform all the duties heretofore
vested in or imposed upon the Department of Parks and the Yonkers
Recreation Commission, consistent with such laws, controls, procedures
and general rules and regulations as are applicable to other city
departments. Parks maintenance shall be performed at the discretion
of the Mayor by the Department of Public Works.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
The Commissioner shall have and exercise, subject to the provisions of § C14-6 hereof, all the administrative powers necessary for the operation of the Department including those powers vested in a City Recreation Commission by the provisions of the General Municipal Law, not inconsistent with this act, as well as such other powers and duties as are provided by applicable law in relation to the administration of the department, and as required by the manager and the City Council. He or she shall render an annual report of the Department's activities to the Mayor and the City Council.
The Board shall have the following powers and duties:
A.
To recommend specifications and qualifications which shall be met
by prospective nominees for the position of Commissioner.
B.
To formulate and make recommendations upon basic policy with respect
to the parks, recreation and conservation programs of the city.
C.
To develop and recommend long-range plans for park and open-space
acquisition and facilities development in conjunction with the Commissioner,
with the assistance of the Commissioner of Planning and the Planning
Board.
D.
To approve a Capital Projects Plan which shall be submitted to it
by the Commissioner annually and which, if so approved, shall be submitted
to the Mayor and the Capital Projects Committee in accordance with
the provisions of this local law.
E.
To approve all matters having to do with the regulation, use, fees
and charges with respect to parks and recreation facilities, which
matters shall be referred to the Board by the Commissioner and shall
become effective only upon its approval. Written notice of such matters
shall be provided to the City Council at least fifteen (15) days prior
its approval.
[Amended 10-13-2020 by L.L. No. 4-2020]
F.
To make recommendations upon any proposed sale of park lands, as
herein defined.
G.
In accordance with the provisions of this act the Commissioner shall
submit to the Board his or her estimates of receipts and proposed
expenditures in connection with the preparation of the annual City
Budget, prior to submission of such estimates to the Mayor, and shall
set a time for a conference with the Board on such estimates to the
Mayor, and shall set a time for conference with the Board on such
estimates which may be the date for a stated monthly meeting. The
Commissioner shall take into consideration but shall not be bound
by the recommendations of the Board as to such estimates. The Board
may submit to the Mayor any recommendations which the Commissioner
declines to accept.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
H.
The Board shall meet once each month on a stated date to be selected
by the Board, and may hold such other meetings as the Board may from
time to time determine. Five (5) members shall constitute a quorum.
Wherever approval by the Board is required, a majority of the whole
Board if required. Any member of the Board absent for any three (3)
consecutive stated or adjourned meetings shall automatically forfeit
his or her appointment unless renominated by the Mayor and reconfirmed
by the City Council for the unexpired term.
[Amended 11-4-2008 by L.L. No. 10-2008]
The Commissioner, and also the Board, may consider, investigate
and recommend to the Mayor and the City Council for selection and
location such additional real estate in the City as may in the Commissioner's
or the Board's opinion be proper and desirable to be reserved, set
apart or acquired for one or more parks.
