The “Touch Grass” bill introduced by City Council Member Christopher Marte will improve our health and air quality by requiring NYC Parks to use real grass instead of hot, unhealthy plastic artificial turf.
We need grassroots support to grow our grass
1) Contact your City Council Member, and urge them to co-sponsor and actively support the bill. Also ask them to support the increased Parks budget, which will enable them to maintain sustainable natural grass fields. Remind them to think of the long-term costs and benefits.*
2) Contact City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, urging her to include the Touch Grass bill into the agenda for the April 23 Parks Committee hearing.
3) As City Council and mayoral races heat up, inform candidates about the bill and why we need it.For legislative contact information and links to research and news about artificial turf, see our Actions Now! page https://eastriverparkaction.org/actions-now/.
While grass requires maintenance, so does artificial turf, such as cleaning and replacing infill, and it does not “grow back,” making it less cost-effective over time than grass.
Playing on real grass decreases injuries. Grass is cooler than the air while artificial turf can be more than 50 degrees hotter. Synthetic grass releases microplastics and other harmful chemicals into the air—and onto players.
Photo by Pat Arnow
The Parks Department fails as stewards of the land. Artificial turf kills life and pollutes the environment. Studies show that soil exposure improves our health. People benefit from soil and grass as much as the insects and birds. Supporting our environment is crucial at this time and in our city where concrete covers so many surfaces.