Commissioner Sue Donoghue, who has led the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation since the start of Mayor Eric Adams’ term, will leave her post at the end of the month, multiple sources confirmed to THE CITY.
Donoghue was an early appointee for Adams, coming aboard in February 2022 after years as the president of the nonprofit Prospect Park Alliance. She was also previously a senior advisor and assistant commissioner at the Parks Department during Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration.
During her tenure, the agency finished nearly 340 capital projects and launched Vital Parks for All, which makes it easier for New Yorkers to track $3.2 billion investments in green spaces, resiliency projects, and public programming across the city.
A spokesperson for the Parks Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office also did not respond to a request for comment.
Donoghue is the latest high-level departure in the Adams administration, including four deputy mayors who left in March.
It’s unclear why she’s leaving, or who her immediate replacement will be.
Donoghue’s advances for the Parks Department came despite a shrinking share of the city’s budget under the Adams administration. She also oversaw controversies, including over snubbing the Central Park Conservancy’s proposed $120 million gift to restore Central Park’s Wollman Rink as the Trump Organization bids to regain control, and issues with tree and landscaping contractors.
One of the most significant undertakings during her nearly four years, was addressing a dangerous shortage of pool and beach lifeguards. In 2023, guards received a pay bump and a bonus for lasting the whole summer, in an attempt to increase their ranks.
And last year, the city signed a new contract with the two union locals representing lifeguards and lifeguard supervisors after years of contentious negotiations that ended with arbitration.
It was the first new contract in 40 years.
Under the contract, vision requirements were loosened for guards working at shallower pools and swimming requirements reduced for those staffing kiddie pools.
The Parks Department began to wrest some control of lifeguard training operations back from the controversial union, including offering trainings in four of the five boroughs this year for the first time in decades. Previously, training was held at one pool in Manhattan.
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