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About Riverside Park Conservancy

The Conservancy cares for six miles of parkland on the West Side of Manhattan from 59th to 181st Street. Working alongside the New York City Parks Department, we make improvements as diverse as the park itself and the city it serves.

Our Vision & Values

We are committed to ensuring that our park is a dynamic and vibrant space for all to enjoy. Our vision is grounded in comfort, community, environmental stewardship, and opportunities for active engagement. As we look to the future, we see a Park where users feel safe and welcomed, where nature is nurtured and protected, and where recreation and programming flourish.

Inclusivity

We believe everyone has a right to the social, cultural and health benefits of a high-quality public park. Unfortunately, areas north of 120th Street have seen years of disinvestment, leading to disparities in accessibility, amenities, and overall conditions. From horticulture to capital improvements, from teen internships to free programming, from grassroots volunteering to partnerships with local organizations, we work alongside community members to ensure a consistent, high standard of care along all six miles of our Park.

Innovation

We pride ourselves on being ahead of the curve when it comes to identifying emerging needs and implementing novel solutions. As an urban park on the water’s edge, we are keenly attuned to the realities of climate change. From green infrastructure like bioswales and engineered soils, to alternative energy solutions, to new systems and ways of working, we are constantly evolving our methods. We stay connected to the latest trends through strong partnerships with local nonprofits and institutions, and through our own field research.

Sustainability

Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in every aspect of our operations. Our renowned herd of weed-eating goats provides a sustainable, chemical-free method for removing invasive plants. Our wildflower meadows support the native bees and butterflies that play a vital role in our local ecosystem. And our new compost facility is the first of its kind in an NYC Park, with on-site processing of horticultural debris that is reducing waste, cutting emissions and improving soil quality.

Our Story

Riverside Park Conservancy was born out of several grassroots neighbor groups with shared missions. The Friends of Riverside Park, the 91st Street Playground Project, the Riverside Clay Tennis Association, The Garden People, and youth sports leagues, as well as other groups, represented a new and evolving form of public-private partnership rooted in direct involvement from the community — demonstrated the deep love and commitment New Yorkers have for their parks.

1970s: The Financial Crisis

Together with the Parks Department, these seminal groups confronted the worst of conditions: the City’s financial crisis of the 1970s led to major disinvestment from its parks, including Riverside Park, leaving them seemingly abandoned and in many places close to ruin.

1986: The Birth of Riverside Park Fund

In 1986, neighborhood residents Peter Wright, Jean Gardner, and Mary Frances Shaughnessy, and other like-minded citizens, created an organization that would be more effective at raising private funds for the operation of the Park, and Riverside Park Conservancy (at that time known as the Riverside Park Fund) was born.

Bill Alex, a Calvert Vaux scholar, provided a desk for the Riverside Park Fund in his office at the Interchurch Center at 120th Street and Riverside Drive, and Riverside Park Conservancy is still housed in that building today.

Parks in the 1970s and 1980s were commonly used as dumping grounds

At first, the Conservancy hired contractors directly to inspect and care for the Park, with tacit approval from the Parks Department. It also raised money that was donated to the Parks Department.

This allowed the Department to hire full‑time and seasonal employees, and to pay for materials and contracts for forestry, fencing, and electrical work. Thus began a long-standing symbiotic relationship between the nonprofit organization and the city department.

Working closely with Riverside Park’s first administrator, Charles McKinney, Riverside Park Conservancy encouraged neighbors to dig in, literally. Groups would come out for volunteer days to rake leaves, sweep, collect trash, and paint fences and benches. The Conservancy enabled individuals to adopt a specific site as “their” garden. Tools, plants, and guidance were provided, and in return, the volunteer made a long-term commitment to providing regular, ongoing care.

Beyond the work they did with their hands, these “ParkTenders” became a rooted presence in the Park, and served as ambassadors for the Conservancy, the Park, and the collaborative local effort to restore it.

Park infrastructure was in a state of severe disrepair.

1986-2006: Working with NYC

Between 1986 and 2006, there was no official relationship between the New York City Parks Department and Riverside Park Conservancy. By all accounts, it was an informal, relationship‑based agreement between the City and the Conservancy about the work that would happen and how.

2006: Official Recognition

In 2006, an agreement was signed to make the Conservancy a more officially sanctioned supporting organization of Riverside Park. But no matter how it has been defined, the symbiotic relationship covers the vast majority of the work done by the Parks Department inside the Park.

2009: The First Riverside Park Conservancy President

In 2009, the trustees of Riverside Park Conservancy together with the Parks Department took a step that would change this. Adopting a model used effectively by other conservancies, most notably in Central Park, the Parks Department’s Riverside Park administrator John Herrold took on the added role of Riverside Park Conservancy President.

Having both sides of the partnership coordinated by one person with an inside view of the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of the overall operation allowed the Conservancy to take on a permanent and substantial role in the daily operations and programming of the Park.

2009: North Park Initiative

Another notable undertaking in 2009 was the launch of the North Park Initiative. This Initiative, which is still active today, sought to address years of neglect and disinvestment north of 120th Street, which has led to great disparities in amenities, cleanliness, and overall conditions between the Park’s northern and southern tiers that are still apparent today. The North Park Initiative was created to focus additional time, advocacy, and resources on the part of the Park bordering the Morningside Heights and Hamilton Heights neighborhoods from 120th to 155th Streets, as well as the shoreline portion of Fort Washington Park through 181st Street.

These areas are home to communities that are predominantly Black or Latinx, who experience poverty rates three times greater than the Upper West Side.

The Conservancy is determined to make sure that the neighbors living alongside this stretch of the Park enjoy all of the benefits that come along with living in close proximity to top quality green space.

A large part of what the new Zone Gardeners did was support the already-existing volunteer efforts.

2010: Zone Gardeners

In the spring of 2010, Riverside Park Conservancy hired four full time “Zone Gardeners” who initially had been only hired for the season due to funding uncertainty.

However, the horticultural restoration and care of a landscape requires not just skill, but long-term involvement, observation, and understanding of the landscape across the seasons. 

Seeing which plants take to the location and which do not is something not always apparent in one season. The establishment of full-time gardening positions provided personal stability for the professionals filling these roles, and made long-term plans the landscape possible.

Over time, this continuous maintenance – and the visible staff presence – made it clear to the community that the Park was being actively tended to. The visible impacts of this work gave the Conservancy a structured program around which to further bolster its fundraising efforts, and positive changes continued to culminate.

Another critical aspect of this new program would be providing the Zone Gardeners with adequate support. Each Gardener would have the necessary tools, including transportation, and attentive support from a supervisor.

Tending to the Park has been a truly all-hands-on-deck, grassroots effort.

In addition to magnifying the Conservancy’s impact on the park, the Zone Gardener Program, which in 2022 supports a team of nearly two dozen full time professional gardening staff, has also changed the way the Parks Department and Conservancy interact on a daily basis. The Zone Gardeners are in the park every day, clocking in each morning, and picking up their vehicles and tools side by side with the Parks Department’s personnel. They are also in close communication with the Park’s dedicated volunteers, who continue to supplement the Gardeners’ work by stewarding particular areas.

2015: Expansion

In 2015, the Conservancy extended its purview to the southern shoreline portion of Ft. Washington Park up to 181st Street. This expanded to scope of its work to include five parks: Riverside Park South, Riverside Park, Sakura Park, West Harlem Piers Park, and a portion of Ft. Washington Park.

2018: First CEO of the Conservancy

In 2018, to focus on fundraising and raise its public profile, the Conservancy brought on its first President and CEO, Dan Garodnick. Under Dan’s leadership, the Conservancy increased its visibility, steadily growing its budget and staff size. He made advocacy a focus for the organization, directing the City’s attention to Riverside Park. In the face of unique challenges brought on by the COVID Pandemic, a number of significant capital projects were completed under Dan’s tenure, including the completion of the 102nd Street Field House, step ramp repairs, and providing horticultural care for the entire length of the Park.

2019: Goats Hit the Slopes

In 2019, the Conservancy began “employing” a seasonal crew of goats to clear weeds and invasive plants in designated areas of the park. The weed-chomping animals, adept at removing tenacious invasives such as porcelain berry and mugwort from otherwise hard-to-reach slopes are a sustainable, green alternative to chemical-based herbicides. Above and beyond performing their core functions, the goats quickly became media darlings and perennial favorites of park goers and neighbors, helping to raise awareness of the Conservancy’s larger sustainability and environmental justice initiatives. 

2022: A Leap Forward

In September 2022, the Conservancy brought on Merritt Birnbaum as its next President & CEO Merritt has led strategic programmatic growth and fundraising campaigns for the Conservancy. She has shepherded major capital projects in partnership with the Parks Department, and brought an emphasis on advocacy and environmental justice to the conservancy’s work, with a particular focus on intensifying efforts in the northern half of the Park.

2023: Compost Compound Established

Riverside Park Conservancy funded the creation of a new Compost Compound in a former derelict parking lot at 96th Street. This is the FIRST facility for processing horticultural waste at scale in an NYC public park. Not only did the compound enable Riverside Park to create a closed loop systems for processing plant material into compost to be used back in the park, significantly reducing the amount of green waste trucked to landfills, it also served as a model for a subsequent New York City Council resolution requiring NYC Parks to establish new facilities for composting horticultural waste within parks across all five boroughs.

2025: An Exciting Year Ahead

Phase 6 of Riverside Park South construction is due for completion. This final phase will introduce a large, multi-use athletic field, basketball courts, pickle ball courts, new entry points at 64th and 62nd Streets, accessible ramps, and improvements to the entrance at 59th Street. Since the first phase of construction of Riverside Park South began in 2001, the park, which stretches from 59th to 65th Streets has become a favorite spot for many New Yorkers, and hosts a number of arts, cultural, wellness, recreational and entertainment events annually.

Local residents took on areas of the Park to cleanup, replant, and maintain.

Along with providing year-round care and hundreds of free public programs for Riverside Park, the Conservancy is also involved with the New Yorkers for Parks Play Fair Coalition, and has actively advocated for the city to provide more resources for parks and to address long-standing issues of park equity and access across the five boroughs.