Field permits are up 48% in a decade. What Council members have pressed Parks on, from lights to no-shows

Getting a city field for a game is getting harder. The Parks Department issued 48% more daily permits for organized sports on public athletic fields in 2025 than a decade earlier, THE CITY reported Tuesday, in an analysis with The Pudding. There were 223,860 permitted reservations last year, held by nearly 1,850 organizations.

Youth sports now account for about three-quarters of permitted reservations, up from roughly 55% a decade ago. Only about 5% of the city's roughly 5,850 active athletic facilities have lights, which squeezes play further as fall days get shorter. Permit rules changed in 2024 to give nonprofits priority, and youth groups are prioritized over adults, according to THE CITY.

Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura told the outlet the summer pilot that kept one soccer field per borough lit until 2 a.m. was a success, and that it has been extended. "In the long term, we need more fields and more lights," she said. The agency's director of athletic permits, Ken Conyers, said Parks has "worked hard to keep pace" with demand.

For residents, this shows up as a league losing its weeknight slot, a kids' academy scrambling for a renewal, or a field that sits empty under a permit nobody used.

What our records add

No-shows and lights came up at the Council in September. At the Parks Committee's Sept. 30 oversight hearing on event permitting, Council Member Phil Wong said that all parks and athletic fields belong to the public, but that access depends on a permitting system that too often creates uncertainty. He said fields in his district are often reserved but little used, that permits can change without enough notice, and that nonprofit clubs end up renting private facilities. He asked whether Parks confirms permitted space is actually used and returns unused time to the public, and called for more lighting.

Parks defended its 10 p.m. lights-out policy in May. At the committee's May 6 hearing, a member asked how 10 p.m. was set as the time field lights go off. A Parks official said the department would get back with an answer, and said it was partly to set one standard across boroughs. The official said Parks has heard from permit holders who want lights on later and from nearby residents who want them off earlier. Earlier in that hearing, the department testified that it updated its rules and permit fees for athletic fields and courts in November 2024 to give nonprofit community groups more equitable access.

The commissioner's count. Testifying at the committee's March 23 budget hearing, Shimamura said Parks has more than 800 athletic fields under its jurisdiction.

A permit refund bill was introduced last week. Int. 1154, from Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry, would require Parks to issue credits and refunds for permits. Its co-sponsors are committee chair Ty Hankerson, Frank Morano, Mercedes Narcisse and Shirley Aldebol. It was introduced Oct. 22.

A fee waiver for schools has waited 271 days. Int. 456, from Althea V. Stevens with 12 sponsors, would waive Parks permit fees for schools and child care centers and create an online system for school permit applications. It was introduced Jan. 29 and has had no hearing.

Youth safety on permitted fields. Int. 734, from Council Member James F. Gennaro, would require concussion prevention training for permitted youth sports in parks. It is also pending in the Committee on Parks and Recreation, which has 34 pending items, 25 of them older than 180 days.

What's next

Parks has extended its overnight lighting pilot, THE CITY reported. None of the permit bills is on an upcoming agenda. The Parks Committee last met Oct. 22 (meeting); its next hearings will be posted on our meetings calendar.