Does being near a park mean that people use it?

The Bronx has over 7,000 acres of park space - more than any other borough in New York City. Yet, the borough’s health outcomes are the worst in the state and data from the NYC Department of Health shows a dearth of physical activity by Bronx residents. In a recent survey, close to 30% of Bronx residents reported engaging in no physical activity in the last 30 days.

Though some studies have shown proximity to a park does increase physical activity in urban areas, it’s not a cure-all. Concerns about park access, park safety, and park sanitation are frequently cited by Bronx residents when asked about their park usage. A recent journal article in Health Affairs by a primary care physician who used to practice in the South Bronx chronicled the story of one of his patients who had gained weight and developed back problems in a relatively short span of time. For years the man had played soccer at Macombs Dam Park, but when the Yankees built their new stadium right next to it, the parkland had become a construction site. Though the city replaced the park five years later with plenty of places to exercise including handball courts, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, and a running track, there is very little green open space. An artificial turf field was built on top of a parking garage but the doctor found that it was used primarily by youth sports leagues. The pickup adult soccer games had stopped.

As the doctor learned and as Bronx Health REACH has heard again and again, just living near a park doesn’t mean that people are going to use it. Bronx Health REACH has two National Parks Service Community HealthCorps members working in the borough to increase utilization of the parks. They have started walking groups in nearby parks and worked with youth to use the park for outdoor activities. While these programs have been successful, there have been many roadblocks. For one, many people living near these parks didn’t even know they existed. Or if they did, they didn’t feel welcome to use them because of perceptions that the parks administrators had made it difficult to get permits or refused to work with community groups trying to hold programming. Recently, Bronx Health REACH heard from one of its partner schools, Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders (PS 457), that it had been denied a permit for a field day at Macombs Dam Park on the grounds that schools (and the kids that come with them) damage the parks. What good is a public park if children can’t play in it?

Bronx Health REACH will continue its efforts to address residents’ concerts around park access, safety, and sanitation. We have met with park officials about easing restrictions on permits and increasing their visibility in the neighborhood. We are also starting conversations with local police precincts and the parks service to increase patrols in Bronx parks where residents have told us they feel unsafe. These are not insurmountable obstacles, but they are real ones and until they are addressed it’s unrealistic to think that just having a park will result in increased physical activity. Bronx Health REACH has seen that facilitating exercise in outdoor spaces does result in weight loss, but until community residents utilize these spaces on their own, the programs will be hard to sustain. We hope that by addressing Bronx residents concerns and making the parks more welcoming to their neighbors, more people will take that first step into a healthier lifestyle.

High Cigarette Taxes Are a Start But Not the Whole Solution

High cigarette taxes are starting to have the impact that anti-smoking proponents have been hoping for. The latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 15.8% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 are daily smokers, down from 20.4% in 2004. The agency stated that substantial increases in cigarette taxes combined with increased education and enforcement efforts targeting younger smokers contributed to the decline. New York State has the highest state tax in the nation at $4.35. New York City tacks on an additional $1.50 tax making a pack of cigarettes almost $6 more than in other parts of the country. The high cost of cigarettes is a deterrent, but there’s still plenty of work that needs to be done to prevent our kids from becoming the next generation of smokers.

Among adults, the Bronx has one of the highest rates of smoking in NYC. Despite a 30% decline since 2002, southeast Bronx residents are nearly 40% more likely to be current smokers than NYC residents overall and other neighborhoods such as Fordham and Kingsbridge count almost a quarter of their residents as smokers. The danger smoking poses to Bronx youth is particularly worrisome. Research shows that 90% of all adult smokers begin before the age of 18. Although the Bronx has one of the lowest youth smoking rates in the city, 3,000 public high school students in the Bronx are regular smokers with data trends showing that 1/3 of these students will die prematurely because of the habit. These are 1,000 unnecessary and preventable deaths in a borough that already has too many of them.

Bronx Health REACH has been partnering with the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership for the last few years on a number of campaigns to further lower youth smoking rates in the Bronx. One campaign explores the impact of tobacco marketing in stores on youth. Bodegas, pharmacies and other tobacco retailers are some of the last places in the United States where Big Tobacco can market its deadly products to our youth. The Partnership found that of the 11,500 tobacco retailers in NYC, 75% are located within 1000 feet of a school. A recent study suggests that the more tobacco products kids see, the more likely they are to smoke. The “point of sale” campaign aims to educate community leaders and local tobacco retailers about tobacco marketing and youth smoking and develop policies that promote healthier environments. With over two thirds of teens shopping in bodegas at least once per week, it is vital that we focus our efforts on this important issue. 

 On May 31^st, Bronx Health REACH joined the Bronx Smoke-Free Partnership, the NYC Coalition for a Smoke-Free City and youth from across the five boroughs in Washington Square Park for World No Tobacco Day to educate community leaders across the city about the importance of reducing youth exposure to tobacco marketing in stores. This event built upon the success of the “Take a Walk in Our Shoes” tobacco marketing tours held last October. In the Bronx, students from PS73 led Senator Gustavo Rivera and other community leaders on a walking tour of tobacco marketing inside and outside of the bodegas on Ogden Avenue in Highbridge to show them what they see on their walk to school (watch “Take a Walk in Our Shoes” here).

Going forward, Bronx Health REACH plans to work directly with bodegas, Merchant Associations, Business Improvement Districts, and Community Boards throughout the borough to gain a better understanding of the challenges store owners face around this issue and develop programs that benefit the health of our youth and businesses. Also, we hope to provide workshops for faith-based leaders, community-based organizations and other community leaders throughout the summer. We must continue to listen to and collaborate with these groups and individuals if we hope to create long-term, sustainable changes that better the health of Bronx communities.