Parker the Park Pigeon

Pigeons are commonly associated with New York, and they way they do that unique "neck move" is not only very reminiscent of the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield but it speaks to that “coooool” New York attitude. Park lovers of EVERY age can agree that the pigeon is truly an ICONIC symbol of this great city. I see this character having the Parks’ logo emblazoned on his chest OR worn as a cape. It would be an honor to have this idea used by our Deptartment of Parks! Thank you for allowing me to submit my idea.

Oaky Dokie

Oaky Dokie is a 7-foot tall tree made out of rubber/polymer and a large canopy (which is interchangeable with green leaves for summer, color leaves for fall, and no leaves at all for winter). The person wearing the mascot outfit will look through a dark mesh screen that looks like a large knot where the limbs split off vertically.

Oaky was born in the spring of 1970 in the northeastern corner of Sheep Meadow (Central Park), the originating acorn from unknown origins.

Oaky Dokie is very amiable and likes to provide shade and comfort to those around him/her. Oaky also provides shelter to squirrels, birds and other thankful critters which visit from time to time. In 1994, Oaky almost succumbed to an infestation of oak tree borers; however, with a timely intervention by the NYC Parks personnel, Oaky's life was saved and promises to live on for many years to come.

Olmsted Owl

The concept behind Olmsted Owl is to capture at once both the history and ever-changing presence of the New York City Parks. "Olmsted" is of course a reference to Frederick Law Olmsted, who asides from designing several of our parks, was a great philanthropist and one of the strongest supporters of the need for open space in urban environments.

I selected the owl in light of the fairly recent discovery of Screech Owls in Central Park. Like the Red-tailed hawks, the presence of owls is testament to the changing nature of city parks, and how they can provide sanctuary to animals that can neither flourish nor live in solely urban environments. Olmsted Owl is representative of how we should respect and acknowledge the history of our parks, enjoy their current existence, and work hard to ensure that their future is even brighter.

Parked

Since Parks isn’t just one animal or one thing to many people I don’t think it would be fair to choose just one aspect... so my mascot idea is "Parked" a mash up (think Muppet-like Cookie Monster in shape)- -I think having rocks/boulders for feet, running paths for legs that move up to a grass body (that is wearing a baseball outfit with Parks logos), oversized googly eyes, and a winter bomber hat on top of its head.