Think tank: Add surcharge on ticketed events to fund NYC parks

A Manhattan think tank has recommended adding a surcharge on ticketed events, including at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, to return up to $190 million annually to fund city parks.

The nonprofit Center for an Urban Future, which bills itself as an "independent, nonpartisan policy organization" on its website, released a staff report Tuesday recommending the surcharge to help backfill budget cuts for city parks and fulfill long needed maintenance projects. The report was written by John Surico, a senior fellow for climate and opportunity, and Eli Dvorkin, the group’s policy director.

A 1% surcharge on an average ticket price of $120, or $1.20 per ticket, could raise up to $38 million annually for city parks, according to the think tank.  Similar fees have been tied to tickets in other cities, including Atlanta and Denver.

"A ticket surcharge is one of the best opportunities to supplement city resources, and one that has been implemented successfully in other cities," the report states. "To minimize the impact on working- and middle-class New Yorkers, the city could exempt all tickets valued below $30 while still capturing much of the projected revenue."

At this point, the report is conceptual and has not been undertaken by city leaders.

The City Council would have to pass a home rule resolution, asking the state "to collect a parks improvement surcharge," according to the report. State legislators would have to grant permission in another bill for the surcharge to be collected by the city Department of Finance, before it is finally approved by the council and the mayor.

The mayor’s office and the City Council did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

New York City parks officials said they would be open to the alternate funding source.

"We are always working to find new and creative ways to generate revenue to strengthen our parks for the benefit of all New Yorkers," the parks department said in a statement. "We appreciate the spirit of the report and the enthusiasm that CUF is bringing to the work of funding our parks."

The Center for an Urban Future said the funding is needed to backfill a $20 million budget cut last year, in addition to infrastructure and improvement projects. The organization estimated the city is only funding about one third of repair projects, which total $725 million.

Advocates said the city needs recurring revenue to fund those projects, which could be generated from tickets including for events at Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center. Surcharges could also be applied to events at proposed casinos in the city.

"The Center for an Urban Future estimates that such a surcharge would generate anywhere from $15 million to $190 million annually, including both primary and secondary market sales," the report states.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.