Brooklyn Greenway Initiative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203283721
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
7185220193
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Quality, Protection, and Beautification N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$466,568
Expenses
$550,281
Assets
$149,812
Liabilities
$20,935

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HUNTER ARMSTRONG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • HUNTER ARMSTRONG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $127,001 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization's mission is to cause the creation and long-term maintenance of the brooklyn waterfront greenway. The corporation is organizied exclusively to create and sustain waterfront access and open space in the hudson river estuary by obtaining, developing and maintaining land for greenways.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization's largest program by expense is related to the development, establishment, and stewardship of the brooklyn waterfront greenway as vital public infrastructure that serves residents, employees, and visitors across brooklyn as a transportation and recreation corridor. The 26-mile planned greenway from greenpoint to east New York is more than 75% complete with gaps remaining only in vinegar hill, red hook, sunset park, and south brooklyn. Greenway planning, design and construction underway in 2021 included segments in wallabout, red hook, gowanus, sunset park, and bay ridge.in 2021, brooklyn greenway initiative (bgi) measured more than 1.3 million greenway users in one location, highlighting its importance as safe accessible open space and mobility infrastructure, and adding physical and community resilience to New York city's overall system of transportation infrastructure.working with multiple public and private partners and advisors, bgi in 2021 advanced the brooklyn waterfront greenway user study to document how the greenway serves as a transportation, climate, and community solution that serves all brooklyn communities equitably. Year two of this project entailed site selection for a series of data collection sensors in the research area while launching field and digital research protocols. Data collection is ongoing through 2023. At the end of the project bgi will publish findings in a public report.public events are an important means of raising awareness and activating use of the greenway as well as ensuring its continued development and long-term stewardship. In 2021 bgi produced "greenway adventures nyc" to encourage and enable self-guided exploration of greenway routes across New York city and the new mobility opportunities this discovery affords. More than 7,000 people participated in this summer-long event.bgi's naval cemetery landscape (ncl) - an award winning 1.7-acre publicly accessible living memorial and native pollinator habitat along the greenway at the brooklyn navy yard - began its 6th year of operation since opening to the public in 2016. In 2021, bgi engaged more than 13,000 local community members and the general public through ncl open hours and by providing free public programs throughout the year. In all, bgi's efforts in 2021 served millions of greenway users, more than 13,000 naval cemetery landscape visitors, and approximately 10,000 people through public engagement events and programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.7%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 78.6%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17.9%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.27; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.1%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.7% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -15.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.7% of revenue deployed · 78.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $433K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.