BP MARKOWITZ STATEMENT ON ADRIAN BENEPE, APPOINTMENT OF BROOKLYN NATIVE VERONICA WHITE AS NEW PARKS COMMISSIONER

“Adrian Benepe and I both took office at the same time, and for more than a decade he has transformed our city’s parkland and playgrounds into some of the most amazing open spaces in our nation, particularly his expansion of parks along the waterfront in Brooklyn and the other boroughs. Along with longtime Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Julius Spiegel and, most recently, Kevin Jeffrey, Commissioner Benepe has made everyone else ‘green’ with envy by overseeing the renovation of more than 200 playgrounds and parks in Brooklyn, from our spectacular Brooklyn Bridge Park and historic Prospect Park to Calvert Vaux Park, the Lakeside Center and McCarren Park Pool. He also had more than 100,000 trees planted in Brooklyn and stepped up lifeguard recruitment and training to ensure that Brooklyn’s pools and beaches would remain safe and open to the public all summer long. Adrian truly had a passion for parks, and although we are all sad to see him go—and I will certainly miss his ‘humorous’ puns and entertaining of children with SpongeBob SquarePants sing-alongs—I know he will do our entire country proud in his new role at the Trust for Public Land. And I welcome Brooklyn-born former resident Veronica White as the new Parks and Recreation Commissioner. My office looks forward to working with Commissioner White as we continue to transform the green spaces of Brooklyn and New York City into ‘urban emeralds’ the envy of the world over.”