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“Park officials began experimenting in the 1980s with a new approach: Shifting responsibilities to the private sector. By 2003 this ‘partnership’ strategy had become the linchpin of the park system. Private organizations — ranging from sophisticated organizations funded by New York’s rich and famous to informal networks of neighborhood volunteers — had taken on major roles in maintaining, upgrading, and day-to-day management of the City’s park system. Commission Adrian Benepe, though a veteran Parks Department employee deeply committed to public service, had contributed to the development of the partnership approach throughout his career. But as he was promoted to the top job, he faced the challenge of pursuing a complex mission when much of the essential capacity was subject to his influence but by no means under his control. … Through the discussion of the intricacies and necessity of public-private partnerships in redeveloping parks in New York City, the case provides a window for students into the world of competing definitions of civic interest and the role of leadership in shaping urban policies.”