April 2024 Student Spotlight
MPA student and NYC Department of Parks and Recreation employee, Andrew Newman talks about his work at the Parks department, his interest in improving how government functions, and his favorite professors and classes.
Can you talk a bit about your work at the NYC Department of Parks and Rec? What have some of the biggest challenges been over the years?
NYC Parks has been a great place to work. Parks handles a lot more than many people realize; from planting and maintaining trees on city streets to managing field and court permits to providing recreation programming, tours of historic housing and abandoned military forts, to operating the city’s outdoor public pools. I started out handling maintenance and operations at Prospect Park then took a position helping to run the successful MillionTreesNYC tree planting and care program, transitioned to managing forestry communications, and then managing correspondence and communications at the Brooklyn Borough Commissioner’s office.
Some of the biggest challenges have been responding to severe weather events like Superstorm Sandy and Tropic Storm Isaias. The impact of once-in-a-century storms, which are now happening almost yearly, on our urban forest cannot be understated. Surveying parks and streets where massive, old trees have come down and processing all the services requests we receive is a mammoth task that involves many city resources. Fluctuations in Parks’ budget can present a challenge as well and can have an impact on our ability to provide timely services.
What got you into public service and an interest in improving how government functions?
My family has always been very civic-minded and both my mother and father spent several years working for local government. I realized early on in my working career that a job at a for-profit company was less fulfilling to me than working in public service, and I can often see the results of the work I do in communities – whether in the form of newly improved playgrounds or increased tree canopy. I’ve also seen inefficiencies and perceptions of a lack of responsiveness to constituent concerns, and those are things I’m heavily invested in changing.
What has your Marxe MPA experience been thus far? Do you have any favorite classes or professors?
My experience at the Marxe School so far has been fantastic. Starting the program in fall 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was past its peak, but variants were still impacting in-person classes, it has been interesting to see how professors have adapted. I’ve really enjoyed the high level of discourse and the different perspectives my classmates bring to each course. Among my favorite and most challenging courses have been “Introduction to Public Affairs” with Professor Neil Sullivan, an intense crash course on American governance, “Communications in Public Settings” with Professor Tiffany Lewis, which greatly helped refine my writing and public speaking, and “Public and Nonprofit Management” with Professor Gary Bagley, a comprehensive survey of different management styles and thoughtful case studies.
