Gramercy Park Block Association
Seasonal planting in a street-tree garden beside Gramercy Park.
Planting around the Park, June 2018.

Our street trees

We use this inventory to guide pruning, root care, treatment and replacement planting, while tending the gardens around the trees.

The work protects the living canopy that gives these blocks so much of their character. The Block Association’s street-tree work takes place outside the Park fence. Inside the fence, the garden and its trees are cared for by the Trustees of Gramercy Park.

Meet the trees around the Park

The tree map gives each of the 41 perimeter trees an individual record. Brass tags numbered 41 through 81 connect a tree on the sidewalk with its location on the map, common and scientific names, photographs and recorded measurements.

The inventory covers ten species, including willow oaks, ginkgoes and a dawn redwood. Browse by species or tag number to identify a tree on your walk.

Explore the tree map

A record that supports better care

The inventory records pruning needs, soil and root concerns, and recommended treatments. Our written care plan follows those recommendations for individual trees.

In the Bartlett inventory story, attention shifts from the canopy to what happens near the ground: exposed root collars, soil nutrients and signs that a tree needs help. The dated assessments in the inventory let those observations be followed over time.

Read about the inventory and care plan

Planting for the next canopy

Before replacing a tree, arborists assess the soil, available light and the condition of nearby trees.

A December 2022 report documented three new perimeter trees: two goldenrain trees on the south side and a maple on the east. Photographs preserve the planting work and connect today’s trees with the decisions that brought them here.

A new tree being planted along the Gramercy Park perimeter.
New perimeter planting, published December 2022.

Forty-one gardens at our feet

The planted spaces around the street trees form a continuous garden at sidewalk level. Iron fences, cobblestone edges and planting beds frame the trees while giving seasonal color to the walk around the Park.

The Block Association’s records describe a 2010 restoration of these tree gardens and later seasonal planting, including begonias, liriope and bulbs. The work has brought the Block Association together with the Trustees’ caretaker and other neighborhood partners, each contributing to the shared surroundings.

Our Clean Streets team removes litter from the gardens and helps maintain their fences.

Explore the tree gardens through the years
Photo credits for this page