Benepe, Adrian
Adrian Benepe
Adrian Benepe is a dedicated public lands advocate committed to increasing outdoor accessibility. He is the President and CEO of Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Benepe was the 14th Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Throughout his term, he effectively managed a workforce of 7,000 personnel responsible for the upkeep of several parks. Additionally, he successfully allocated and supervised the expenditure of a substantial budget exceeding $3 billion towards the maintenance of these parks. Benepe played a crucial role in establishing new parks throughout New York City. Lastly, he championed the integration of schoolyards into the public domain, allowing for their accessibility outside of regular school hours. After retiring from the Parks Department, Benepe took a position at The Trust for Public Land as Senior Vice President and Director of City Park Development. In this capacity, he dedicated his efforts to advocating for parks and advancing the 10-Minute Walk initiative nationwide.
“These great landscapes with large open spaces for flexible use…We now understand how skillful and thoughtful that design was and that we need to respect that legacy.” - Adrian Benepe, Olmsted Network, 2021
Benepe was born in 1957 and grew up in New York City, New York, where he found his passion for being in parks, as many were right in his neighborhood. He predominantly lived in Manhattan throughout his life. “Though born in a nearby suburb,” he says, “I was raised and have lived all of my life in New York City. Growing up mostly in small apartments, I found my places to play and interact with nature in NYC’s parks, as did my own children.”
He received his high school degree from Horace Mann High School in The Bronx, NY. After high school, he attended Middlebury College in Vermont and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature in 1979. Subsequently, he pursued a Master of Arts in journalism at Columbia University and graduated in 1981, joining a lineage of family members who had attended Columbia. While at Columbia, Benepe was awarded a Pulitzer Fellowship.
From an early age, Benepe found himself outdoors in New York City. “I was part of the inaugural class of Urban Park Rangers hired to work in NYC Parks in 1979. I also had more unconventional “outdoors” jobs, including selling food from a pushcart in Central Park in the summer of 1976 and working as a bus boy in the Plaza Hotel in the summer of 1977.” Apart from a stint as a reporter for the Hudson Dispatch from 1981 to 1983, Benepe worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in various roles from 1979 through 1990. From 1982 to 1983, Benepe was the Program Director of the Urban Park Rangers. Benepe then became the Director of Public Information from 1983 to 1985, the Operations Coordinator from 1985 to 1986, the Director of Natural Resources and Horticulture from 1986 to 1988, and finally, the Director of Arts and Antiquities from 1988 to 1990. In 1987, Benepe was a participant in the mayoral Top 40 program.
In 1991, he started working at the New York Botanical Garden, where he collaborated with a colleague on what would become the annual winter train exhibition. In 1992, Benepe was chosen for Leadership New York, a Coro Foundation program. In 1994, Benepe began working at the Municipal Art Society as the Vice President for Issues and Public Affairs.
After two years at The Municipal Art Society of New York, Benepe returned to the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation in 1996 as the Manhattan Borough Commissioner. In 2002, he was named Parks Commissioner, a position he held for the duration of Mayor Michael Boomberg’s term, from February 4, 2002, to August 29, 2012, making him the longest tenure since Robert Moses. Throughout his term as Parks Commissioner, he managed The Gates, a public art initiative by renowned artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and established public-private partnerships that enabled the development of High Line Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park. During his term, Mayor Michael Bloomberg initiated the ambitious PlaNYC project, which aimed to construct and revitalize several urban parks and green spaces in response to the growing population in New York City.
After retiring from the NYC Parks Department, Benepe joined the Trust for Public Land, where he engaged in urban park initiatives as the Senior Vice President and Director of National Programs. He was responsible for city park development and launched the 10-minute Walk initiative. The initiative promoted that everyone in the US should have access to a park or green space within a 10-minute walk.
After eight years at Trust for Public Land, Benepe was selected as the President and CEO of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 2020. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden is a pioneering institution that models urban botanical gardens globally and provides youth education and community greening projects. Benepe’s role includes improving the finances of the garden, which faced decreased visitation and revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Benepe has years of experience in crisis management, having stewarded the NYC Parks Department through the September 11, 2001 crisis and the 2007/2008 economic crisis. Benepe is a skilled fundraiser, strategic planner, and relationship builder.
Benepe has had notable mentors throughout the years, including Gordon Davis, the innovative NYC Parks Commissioner from 1977 to 1982; Betsy Barlow Rogers, First Central Park Administrator and founder of the Central Park Conservancy; and Henry Stern, Parks Commissioner from 1982 to1990 and 1994 to2002. He also embodies the spirit of mentorship for others seeking to build their career. “I have had many more mentoring opportunities than I can count. In particular, I have helped young people advance in their careers across the scape of environmental jobs and sought to mentor and promote people of color in a field where they were underrepresented” (Survey, 2023).
“Learn as much as possible about how government and non-profit management structures work, especially the financial and fundraising ideas. Be open to lateral moves that add to your experiences” (Survey, 2023).
Ellinger, M. (2023, July 6). Olmsted and Friends: Meet Adrian Benepe. Olmsted Network. https://olmsted.org/olmsted-and-friends-meet-adrian-benepe/ Wikipedia contributors. (2023, July 26).
Adrian Benepe. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 19, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adrian_Benepe&oldid=1167265588
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.