We, the undersigned Van Cortlandt Park users and community members, strongly oppose the use of the Van Cortlandt Park Parade Ground for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup. We stand with the local elected leaders, business and environmental groups, park stewards, schools, and cricket, baseball, soccer, and track organizations who have voiced similar opposition.
A public park is not an appropriate site for a 20-acre stadium seating 34,000 people for a private, ticketed event. Closure of this space to the public for a minimum of 7 months is a misuse of public parkland, displacing tens of thousands of park users and cutting off the valuable public recreational and cultural programming that regularly occurs on this site.
We are further concerned about the negative impacts on Van Cortlandt Park and the surrounding area. The scale, construction, and extended duration of the proposal will result in significant damage to the Parade Ground, making it impossible to fully restore to public use in a reasonable timeframe. It is likely that the project would cause damage to 30% of the Parade Ground, and could require up to 2 additional years to ameliorate, resulting in no public access during that time.
Thus far, there has been no study executed that would ensure protection of the Parade Ground, its natural resources and wildlife, specifically the many species of birds who visit the lawn as their primary source of food. There has been no guarantee that the Enslaved African Burial Ground would be protected from the enormous crowds associated with the tournament. An event of this scale requires traffic and parking studies as well as an understanding of the extensive electrical and plumbing impacts. And, perhaps most importantly, thousands of Bronx children and teens will not have access to their primary green space and sports fields for an unspecified amount of time.
ICC has yet to share a proper timeline with the community for repairing the damage done to the field. They have only made vague promises to repair cricket pitches in the park. At the very least, there should be clear and significant restitution for what will surely be an enormous disruption and inconvenience for an entire community.
Beyond the negative impacts on the park, park users, and the community, there is not sufficient time for the New York City and ICC to transparently advance the proposal through the lengthy legal and approvals processes required for a project of this magnitude, while soliciting and incorporating community feedback.
With all of the above listed considerations, Van Cortlandt Park is not an appropriate site for a temporary stadium for the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup.
We urge the City and ICC to look elsewhere for a more suitable location.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
September 1, 2023
September 1, 2023
I really thought this might just be a small neighborhood thing but the momentum right now is honestly kind of overwhelming and frankly terrifying in the best way possible. Seeing so many people actually care about the grass and the birds and the general sanctity of the park makes me want to scream at the city officials until they finally listen to us because this place belongs to everyone not just some private event organizers.
August 31, 2023
I was just looking at the count and we are right on the edge of five hundred people which is honestly wild since I started this sitting at my kitchen table while my coffee went cold. If we could just get a few more eyes on this thing right now while the momentum is actually moving it would be huge because those decision makers are definitely going to look at the total number first when they finally acknowledge we exist.
August 19, 2023
I just saw the number tick over to one hundred which feels totally surreal because this started as just a frustrated thought I had while walking my dog near the parade ground. It is honestly so wild that so many people feel just as protective of our grass and green space as I do so thank you for actually paying attention to this.
Reached 100 supporters
August 18, 2023
293 Comments
Putting a temporary stadium at VCP is a poorly thought out idea. It will disrupt the community and regular park users. Bringing in water, electric and sewer lines will damage the parade ground. NYC already has better alternative sites.
I’m a community cricket player who plays regularly at Van Cortlandt Park, alongside hundreds of other cricketers, and I do not wish to see the fields taken away for an entire league season of cricket for the sake of a one-off international match
I wonder if the planners have taken into account the resentment this would cause in the neighborhood and how that resentment might affect their whole endeavor. This is as horrific as if they were going to build it on the Great Lawn in Central Park. Imagine the uproar THAT would cause.
No privatization of our public park. The proposed temporary stadium will be an environmental and public-use disaster. At the very least, before this stadium project can be seriously considered, there must be an Environment Impact Statement developed and subjected to public review.
We're going to chase those playing cricket away so someone else can WATCH cricket?? For money? And take away any of the very scarce parking? Parkland belongs to NYC citizens not the I CC, and not the mayor.
Bangladesh
This park is not the right location for this "temporary" project. There is no consideration for those who use the park now on a daily basis, no mention of the Sacred Burial Grounds in the proposal and no financial incentive for the people who build it to restore it correctly. Someone will benefit financial it won't be the people in the Bronx.
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We, the undersigned Van Cortlandt Park users and community members, strongly oppose the use of the Van Cortlandt Park Parade Ground for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup. We stand with the local elected leaders, business and environmental groups, park stewards, schools, and cricket, baseball, soccer, and track organizations who have voiced similar opposition.
A public park is not an appropriate site for a 20-acre stadium seating 34,000 people for a private, ticketed event. Closure of this space to the public for a minimum of 7 months is a misuse of public parkland, displacing tens of thousands of park users and cutting off the valuable public recreational and cultural programming that regularly occurs on this site.
We are further concerned about the negative impacts on Van Cortlandt Park and the surrounding area. The scale, construction, and extended duration of the proposal will result in significant damage to the Parade Ground, making it impossible to fully restore to public use in a reasonable timeframe. It is likely that the project would cause damage to 30% of the Parade Ground, and could require up to 2 additional years to ameliorate, resulting in no public access during that time.
Thus far, there has been no study executed that would ensure protection of the Parade Ground, its natural resources and wildlife, specifically the many species of birds who visit the lawn as their primary source of food. There has been no guarantee that the Enslaved African Burial Ground would be protected from the enormous crowds associated with the tournament. An event of this scale requires traffic and parking studies as well as an understanding of the extensive electrical and plumbing impacts. And, perhaps most importantly, thousands of Bronx children and teens will not have access to their primary green space and sports fields for an unspecified amount of time.
ICC has yet to share a proper timeline with the community for repairing the damage done to the field. They have only made vague promises to repair cricket pitches in the park. At the very least, there should be clear and significant restitution for what will surely be an enormous disruption and inconvenience for an entire community.
Beyond the negative impacts on the park, park users, and the community, there is not sufficient time for the New York City and ICC to transparently advance the proposal through the lengthy legal and approvals processes required for a project of this magnitude, while soliciting and incorporating community feedback.
With all of the above listed considerations, Van Cortlandt Park is not an appropriate site for a temporary stadium for the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup.
We urge the City and ICC to look elsewhere for a more suitable location.
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
September 1, 2023
September 1, 2023
I really thought this might just be a small neighborhood thing but the momentum right now is honestly kind of overwhelming and frankly terrifying in the best way possible. Seeing so many people actually care about the grass and the birds and the general sanctity of the park makes me want to scream at the city officials until they finally listen to us because this place belongs to everyone not just some private event organizers.
August 31, 2023
I was just looking at the count and we are right on the edge of five hundred people which is honestly wild since I started this sitting at my kitchen table while my coffee went cold. If we could just get a few more eyes on this thing right now while the momentum is actually moving it would be huge because those decision makers are definitely going to look at the total number first when they finally acknowledge we exist.
August 19, 2023
I just saw the number tick over to one hundred which feels totally surreal because this started as just a frustrated thought I had while walking my dog near the parade ground. It is honestly so wild that so many people feel just as protective of our grass and green space as I do so thank you for actually paying attention to this.
Reached 100 supporters
August 18, 2023
293 Comments
This is a public park for the PUBLIC, it is not a site for any profit enterprises that deny the park accessibility rights of New York citizens. There are other 'built' sites for this kind of arena event. Figure out how to use one of those and take this very negative idea off the VC Park.
Putting a temporary stadium at VCP is a poorly thought out idea. It will disrupt the community and regular park users. Bringing in water, electric and sewer lines will damage the parade ground. NYC already has better alternative sites.
I’m a community cricket player who plays regularly at Van Cortlandt Park, alongside hundreds of other cricketers, and I do not wish to see the fields taken away for an entire league season of cricket for the sake of a one-off international match
I wonder if the planners have taken into account the resentment this would cause in the neighborhood and how that resentment might affect their whole endeavor. This is as horrific as if they were going to build it on the Great Lawn in Central Park. Imagine the uproar THAT would cause.
No privatization of our public park. The proposed temporary stadium will be an environmental and public-use disaster. At the very least, before this stadium project can be seriously considered, there must be an Environment Impact Statement developed and subjected to public review.
We're going to chase those playing cricket away so someone else can WATCH cricket?? For money? And take away any of the very scarce parking? Parkland belongs to NYC citizens not the I CC, and not the mayor.
Bangladesh
This park is not the right location for this "temporary" project. There is no consideration for those who use the park now on a daily basis, no mention of the Sacred Burial Grounds in the proposal and no financial incentive for the people who build it to restore it correctly. Someone will benefit financial it won't be the people in the Bronx.
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This is a public park for the PUBLIC, it is not a site for any profit enterprises that deny the park accessibility rights of New York citizens. There are other 'built' sites for this kind of arena event. Figure out how to use one of those and take this very negative idea off the VC Park.