Managing a Menagerie

NYC Parks and Rec Uses Yardi

By Leah Etling on May 13, 2013 in News

New York City’s Central Park is a place where millions of memories have been made. The iconic mid-city oasis has captured the hearts and imaginations of New Yorkers and visitors from around the world. Whether rowing a boat across The Lake, observing Gus the polar bear at the Zoo, or enjoying a burger at the Ballplayers’ House, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation creates a visitor experience that is one of a kind.

For the most visited park in the United States, just one part of the recreational portfolio of the NYC Parks Department, the property management and accounting side of its daily operations are of utmost importance. Continuing an 18-year business relationship with Yardi, the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation is now using Yardi Voyager for Government as its technology solution for these important records.

“We concluded that Voyager is the platform with the versatility to manage the incredible number and variety of assets under our jurisdiction,” said David Cerron, chief accountant of Parks & Recreation’s revenue division.

That variety is overwhelming and impressive. Here’s a look at the scope and size of the NYC Department of Parks and Rec and its offerings for visitors.

-The department is responsible for 29,000 acres of land within its jurisdiction, which is 14 percent of the total acreage of New York City. That includes 14 miles of beaches.

-Those acres are subdivided into 5,000 properties that include parks, recreation centers, community gardens, dog parks, swimming pools and more.

-There are 800 athletic fields, 1,000 playgrounds, 550 tennis courts, 66 public pools, 48 rec centers, 17 nature centers, and 13 golf courses under the department’s oversight. There are also myriad fitness paths, boat launches, dog runs and skate parks.

-The city’s history is part of the department’s care, including 1,200 monuments and 23 museums. The Central Park Zoo, established as a menagerie in the 1850’s, was one of the first opportunities for Americans to observe wild and exotic animals like lions, pumas and yaks. There are six zoos overseen by the NYC Parks department, one in each city borough.

-The historic houses managed by the department and accessible to curious visitors include the cottage of Edgar Allan Poe and the Van Cortlandt House, where George Washington bunked during the Revolutionary War.

-Department staff takes care of 650,000 street trees, another 2 million within its park acreage, and is collaborating with 132 PlaNYC to plant 1 million more in the next decade. The trees and grasses of the parks are beloved by city dwellers wanting to escape the confines of skyscrapers and cement, even just for an hour or two.

Yardi Voyager for Government, a robust software solution for government entities engaged in property management transactions, will be ideal for tracking concession income from hundreds of park vendors, creating and monitoring maintenance schedules, assessing real-time performance evaluation via Yardi Analytics, and managing critical dates, notifications, and documents.

So the next time you visit Central Park and take your children to the Imagination Playground, or linger at one of the sculptures that’s part of the nation’s pre-eminent outdoor art museum, or simply lace up your shoes and go for a run, remember that there’s more to the parks of NYC than meets the eye – and Yardi is a part of the behind-the-scenes magic.

Yardi Senior Writer Joel Nelson contributed to this report. Read a press release on the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation using Yardi Voyager for Government on Yardi.com