Meet NYC Parks’ New Rockaway Administrator

By Katie McFadden

As we near another Rockaway summer, the newest Rockaway Administrator for NYC Parks, Elizabeth Walsack, is getting into the swing of things after stepping into the role in March. But with more than 16 years of experience with NYC Parks and living right here in Arverne since 2023, it might be a walk in the park for Walsack.

After it was announced in September that former Rockaway Administrator Eric Peterson was being reassigned to Marine Park, a search began for the next administrator to get sand in their shoes. NYC Parks began an internal hiring process, and Elizabeth Walsack threw her hat into the ring.

And Walsack had the resume to prove she’d be a good fit for the job. “I’m a really proud Parkie,” she told The Rockaway Times. In 2007, while living in Bed Stuy and working in nonprofits, Walsack applied for a seasonal position in the borough office for Brooklyn Parks. “I applied for it one day, got the interview the next, and by the third day, I got the job offer. Nearly 17 years later, I’ve had all of these amazing experiences and I’m incredibly proud of now being able to serve in Rockaway as administrator,” she said.

Walsack started out writing correspondence for Parks’ Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Julius Spiegel. “He was a really great person to learn from,” she said. She then applied for the seasonal step-up program, working in operations as a Level 1 Parks Supervisor at places like a pool in Gowanus, and then the beach at Coney Island in 2011. “That was such a fun and wild experience,” she said. Then, in 2012, she was assigned to Prospect Park, supporting the concert series there and night events, including the late-night post-event cleanups. That was followed by a position as the main liaison for capital projects for Brooklyn for about two years, seeking grants and funding to get various parks renovated and improved, and celebrating with several ribbon cuttings for completed projects.

“Then, I got my dream job,” Walsack said. That was as Parks and Recreation Manager in Brooklyn, focusing on the Brooklyn shore of Jamaica Bay from Marine Park to Spring Creek. From there, she transferred to Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights for a few years before taking on a brand-new title of Regional Manager in Prospect Park, where she managed and supported a team of staff focusing on “big picture” items. She was there for seven years. “I worked close with the Prospect Park Alliance and the leadership team and learned how private-public partnerships between the city and nonprofit partners work,” she said.

While working in that role, Walsack decided she was ready for a personal change. In September 2023, she moved to Arverne. “I had lived in Brooklyn for 25 years, most notably Bed Stuy for 18 years, and I felt, after 18 years, I needed a bit of an upgrade, and I started looking around. I was trying to focus more on my 5 to 9, instead of my 9 to 5. I found a bungalow for rent in Arverne and figured I’d just spend some of that time commuting and the rest of that time at the beach,” she said.

Then an opportunity came about to make that commute even shorter when Parks opened up the position for Rockaway Administrator. “I threw my hat in and I’m here now. I’ve had such a wonderful, really well-rounded experience these past few years and I found myself in the right place at the right time with an eagerness to learn and serve my community,” Walsack said. “I am really service oriented and the idea of being able to afford to live where I work is incredible. Coney Island was such a fun experience being at the beach and I’ve always felt our beach operations are some of the top tier of what Parks does. And Rockaway is a really special place, being the largest municipal beach in the country. It’s a great way to make a big impact and being at the top of an amazing team of hardworking Parkies to provide this incredible resource to the residents of Rockaway and the visitors is something that’s ideal. Plus, my dog is very happy to see me more now that I’m not commuting.”

Walsack’s pup has already been able to take advantage of some of her work assignments as she recently made an appearance at Tail Waggers’ cleanup for It’s My Park Day at the Rockaway Freeway Dog Park, as Walsack has been acclimating herself to her new role. But living in Rockaway for a year and a half, she doesn’t have to do too much acclimating since starting March 3. “I’m such a park nerd. I’ve done all the exploring, I know the sites, the playgrounds and the parks, so it hasn’t been challenging to familiarize myself with the area,” she said, adding that some of her favorites are areas around the bay like Brant Point. “The hardest part is learning the property number codes for reports and work orders.”

So, Walsack’s been spending a lot of time becoming more familiar with the people of Rockaway. Although, she knows many already through volunteering with organizations like the Surfrider Foundation and the Rockaway Film Festival. Outside of knowing the key players and neighbors in those organizations, in the past few weeks, she’s been stopping by just about every community meeting in town from civic meetings to Community Board 14 and learning from their leaders. “Felicia Johnson and Dolores Orr are such a wealth of knowledge. They’re on top of everything, so they’ve been so gracious and helpful to me and I’m grateful for that,” Walsack said. She’s also been in contact with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as they continue their work to shore up the shoreline.

After all, Walsack is diving headfirst into Rockaway’s prime time—summer. “We’re having the beach opening on May 23 and things will ramp up quickly. So, my focus has been on the beach,” she said. But she’s had some help to prepare. “Rockaway Parks Deputy Administrator Khalil Bratton, it’s hard to believe he’s only been in the agency for two years. He’s incredibly knowledgeable and really sharp and he’s been so wonderful in helping to onboard me,” Walsack said. “We’ve been having a good time collaborating on how we’re gonna get our seven miles of beach and nearly six miles of boardwalk ready to go by Memorial Day.”

As far as long-term goals, Walsack hopes to “make Rockaway a destination for people year-round.” She’s still working on the how to for that goal, but part of it includes introducing more programming in Rockaway and Broad Channel’s parks and engaging more people to get involved with volunteer opportunities.

To reach those goals, Walsack says she’s “optimistic and realistic” and most importantly, “I’m hoping I can be helpful to all of the various groups out there with their own priorities and interests.” And when times get tough and passionate people start to put the pressure on, Walsack says she’ll take a page out of “Parks and Recreation” character Leslie Knope’s book—“What I hear when I’m being yelled at is people caring loudly at me.”

Walsack says, whether loudly or quietly, she’s available to hear from those who care. She can be reached by phone at 646-879-2335 or by email at: elizabeth.walsack@parks.nyc.gov