Union Sq. Partnership and Parks Dept. Work Toward a Historic Revenue-Sharing Agreement

Have you thought about Union Square Park lately? Whatever one’s answer about the now clean and thriving historic oasis that stands at the northern edge of Greenwich Village, they need to reckon with Julie Stein, executive director of the Union Square Partnership (USP) since 2023.

The business improvement district (BID) was formed 40 years ago to support the many businesses surrounding the park, but for the past three decades the BID has extended that support to include upkeep of the park itself.

With rising upkeep costs, the Union Square Partnership is working toward a plan to have future park revenue help support its work. There are multiple potential revenue streams from the park, and any arrangement for sharing these revenues is still to be determined.

On Oct. 17, the city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee (FCRC) voted to allow the Parks Department to negotiate with the USP BID.

“We’re thinking about the future of Union Square Park,” Stein said.

“Our goal is to provide a higher level of service alongside our partners at the Parks Department as well as find new ways to invest in the physical plant,” she continued. The aim is “to make sure that the physical space feels like a robust and green 21st-century landscape that really reflects how people want to use our public space.”

Stein oversees the organization’s work to enhance the quality of life and create a cleaner, safer, and more enjoyable environment for Union Square residents, businesses, and visitors, while prioritizing the future growth of the district through strategic planning, fundraising, and advocacy programs.

Straus Media sat down with the long-time public servant to discuss the pending revenue-sharing deal, its potential benefits for the neighborhood, and the rationale for formalizing USP’s stewardship of the park.

Why was the park never a part of your business improvement district (BID) agreement with the city?

BIDs are not funded by the city. The property owners within the BID boundaries pay an assessment as part of their Department of Finance tax bill, and that funding then comes to us. It is local funding that is staying locally. We were created in 1984. I can’t speak to the exact rationale at the time, but I think the focus was really on the sidewalks and the streets and providing public safety for the retail.

So, Union Square Partnership voluntarily supplemented what the Parks Department did by cleaning up and landscaping?

Exactly. I’ll broadly call it volunteer work in the park. If you spend time in Union Square Park, you’ll very visibly see both Parks workers and the [paid] Union Square Partnership team. It’s very much a partnership, working side by side to keep the park clean, safe, and beautiful.

The services that we provide in the park right now are everything from our clean team members who will sweep the pathways; public safety officers who are ambassadors within the park and outside of the playground. We set up the bistro tables and chairs, the movable furniture, and the seating areas. We also have a landscaper who maintains the plantings and does leaf cleanup, again, alongside the Parks Department. And then every summer and sometimes throughout the year, we provide free public programming.

How did it come about that the Partnership would request financial help from the city?

Union Square Park is the anchor of the neighborhood. It was reasonable for us to start helping the Parks Department in the maintenance of the park because the greater neighborhood really relies on that anchor to be in the best condition possible.

In addition to being the business improvement district, we’ve taken on a couple of new projects. One was to formally become the Plaza Partner for the Department of Transportation plazas that are in the area.

Similarly, we had been volunteering since about 2009 in the care and maintenance of the plazas in the neighborhood. We took that opportunity last year to become the formal DOT Plaza Partner, so it’s a natural continuation for us to formalize our work with the Parks Department for our work in the park.

A Crain’s New York Business article said that each year for the last two years, the park generated $100,000 from events. So, the deal would give USP a percentage of future monies generated?

I don’t want to speak for the Parks Department because any revenue generated in the park is directly with them, and so we don’t have visibility into those numbers without access to their ledgers.

In the absence of numbers, in terms of what’s generated in the park, broadly, the framework here is that two things will happen: One, some of the revenue that gets generated in the park will come to the Partnership to reinvest in the park, and two, we will also become a lowercase-C conservancy, which becomes a platform for fundraising. That will lead to more resources that will be able to be invested in the park and increase the level of service for everyone who enjoys the park.

When will this role be formalized?

We don’t have a specific timeline. When we went to the Community Board in September, it was at the beginning of the process. The Parks Department goes on and basically asks for permission to negotiate from the Franchises and Concessions Review Committee. I don’t know what the date on that would be. We’re eager to get it done, but we’re working in partnership with the folks at Parks.

What if all the entities can’t come to an agreement?

Our mission is for the thriving of the neighborhood. In our financial environment, it becomes increasingly difficult for us to spend resources on things that we’re not contracted for. We want to continue to be great stewards of the neighborhood. We really hope that we’re able to enter into the agreement because we know how important the park is to the neighborhood and, really, to the city overall.

Okay, so let’s be positive. It’s all going to go through. Will there then be added services, or are you just going to up the game of the present services?

Again, it’s to be determined. Part of our conversation with the Parks Department will be what the formal roles and responsibilities of that agreement will be.

This city kicking in financially to the various partnerships that take care of their areas seems very reasonable. It takes the onus off the city. It seems like it should be standard.

My understanding is that every park is unique and has different needs and different revenue opportunities, and different private philanthropic opportunities. I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all model, but I think among both the Parks Partners, as well as the Parks Department, the shared goal is to resource the parks as much as possible because we know that parks are critical amenities for New Yorkers.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novel, “The Last Single Woman in New York City.”