Each spring, Riverside Park bursts into bloom with one of its most beloved seasonal displays: ornamental crabapple trees in shades of deep pink, soft pink, and white.
Their clouds of blossoms are more than a beautiful sign of spring — they are part of the Park’s historic design, a living landscape that has welcomed generations of walkers, cyclists, runners, neighbors, and visitors along the Hudson River.
Riverside Park Conservancy, with generous private support from Treebed LLC, is restoring a historic row of multi-stem crabapple trees along the Hudson River Greenway between West 83rd Street and West 72nd Street. The project will replace 28 crabapple trees on the waterfront that were lost over time due to age and poor condition, re-establishing the rhythm, beauty, and sense of continuity that once defined this stretch of the Park.
Crabapples have a long history in Riverside Park. Many were originally planted during the Park’s major westward expansion in the 1930s, when the waterfront landscape was reshaped and thousands of new trees were added. In Riverside, crabapples became especially important for their hardy character, their sculptural multi-stem form, and their extraordinary spring blooms. Along pathways and park edges, they create a soft, flowering buffer — bringing color, fragrance, and seasonal drama to an urban landscape.
The trees being planted through this project were carefully selected to echo the character of the historic waterfront plantings. Their multi-stem structure recalls the distinctive form of the original crabapples, while their pink buds open into bright white flowers that will restore the springtime experience visitors know and love. In fall and winter, their small red fruit will add seasonal interest and provide food for birds.
This restoration is both practical and poetic. It replaces missing trees, strengthens the Park’s canopy, supports wildlife, and renews an important historic landscape feature. Just as importantly, it safeguards a moment of collective joy: that brief, spectacular time each spring when the Greenway becomes a corridor of blossoms and Riverside Park reminds us of how much beauty our city holds.
As the new trees settle in and grow, visitors will see this beloved section of waterfront return to life — one tree, one season, and one bloom at a time.
This waterfront project, undertaken with private funding, is a continuation of a years’ long effort by NYC Parks to restore and preserve the significant collection of multi-stem crabapple trees in Riverside Park. Over the past two decades, NYC Parks has planted hundreds of multi-stem crabapples at important locations throughout the Park.
For a more in-depth look at Riverside Park’s crabapples and other flowering trees, watch this webinar “More than Cherries: The Flowering Trees of Riverside Park,” by NYC Parks Landscape Architect, and RPC Chief of Design & Construction, Margaret Bracken.
