A week after directing park employees to stop using rubber infill in artificial turf fields, city Parks Department officials retracted that decision, explaining that they made a mistake and plan to continue to consider “the newest and most innovative synthetic turf technologies” in future projects.

“There is no change in the Park Department’s policy on synthetic turf, and in the internal memorandum, I incorrectly made a blanket statement,” Deputy Commissioner of Capital Projects Amy Freitag said in a statement on Jan. 22.

A week earlier, members of the nonprofit group NYC Park Advocates obtained the internal memo written on Jan. 14. They released it to the public, resulting in news stories in the New York Times and Metro.

Freitag’s retraction quickly followed, much to the disappointment of some park advocates. “I was saddened because it was so clear that the city was trying to avoid liability,” said Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates. “They have been backing away from turf since the summer, and it was sad they couldn’t be honest with the public.”

The Parks Department began installing synthetic turf made with rubber tire pellets in city parks in 1997. Since then, some park advocates and environmentalists have claimed that this material contains potentially carcinogenic material.

Some park architects like the FieldTurf, as the material is called, because it has more of a grass-like feel, since the rubber pellets soften the turf.

In the past decade, 77 synthetic turf ball fields have been installed across the city and 23 more are currently in design or construction.

While the Parks Department’s Jan. 14 memo stated it was suspending use of rubber infill synthetic turf, the Jan. 22 statement said carpet style turf was ”advisable” for asphalt conversions because the carpet can be laid directly on top of the ground.

Two local fields, Williamsbridge Oval Park in Norwood and Harris Field in Bedford Park, are currently undergoing renovations. According to a Parks Department spokesperson, Williamsbridge Oval will have one multi-use field made with rubber pellets, while two multi-use carpet-style turf fields are under construction at Harris Field.

Other groups are feeling the pressure to abandon rubber infill turf. Troy Farmer of the nonprofit group Trust for Public Land, which builds playgrounds throughout the five boroughs, said his organization will be switching to a tufted nylon surface on the 24 projects planned for the next few years. They are also researching other alternatives to rubber pellet turf. Although they have two crumb rubber playgrounds currently under construction, Farmer said increased public concern caused the group to change its policies.

“There is no reason to believe the tire pellets are not safe,” Farmer said, “but with this concern, we felt that because we go into schools and build playgrounds for children, we wanted to take the safest route.”

Last year, activists, educators, and environmentalists began to question the safety of the materials used to make turf. They were also worried about the heat retention of these fields, which can become twice as hot as natural grass fields during the summer.

The Parks Department and FieldTurf countered with studies of their own claiming this turf is “more environmentally friendly than ‘natural’ grass fields.”

The preliminary $100,000 review of scientific turf studies, paid for by the New York Community Trust and sponsored by the city Health Department, stated, “We believe that health risks are unlikely from exposure to the levels of chemicals found in the rubber pellets.”

The full report is scheduled to be released this spring.

The Parks Department has also tried to alleviate concerns about the heat retention by installing “misting stations” at a few city parks.