Suggested reading lists
Start with the part of Gramercy that catches your interest. These six trails follow the people and choices behind the neighborhood’s everyday life.
Or search the whole site →
How the Block Association began
A founding campaign, an early network and the relationships that shaped the Block Association.
- Begin with About usThe purpose behind the work.
- The founding of the Block Association · 1994Neighbors organize and speak up.
- The first yearEarly priorities become practical projects.
- Kenmore HallA campaign develops into enduring care.
Where that work leads today →
September 11 and its aftermath
Food, rest, friendship and the continuing work of remembrance.
- The neighborhood relief effortA chronology of the response.
- Rest and support at Olive LeafThe Kenmore Hall responder partnership.
- Music and remembranceThe vigil and the memorial concerts.
- Kids Helping KidsA connection with Ohio gives children a part to play.
- Support for the familiesThe November 2001 neighborhood benefit.
- The Wall of SupportNilda Mesa’s photographic tribute.
- E-MENColleagues preserve memories for officers’ children.
- The 13th Precinct Remembrance GardenThe 13th Precinct Remembrance Garden.
Read the 2026 remembrance letter →
Streets and trees
The people, gardens and repeated tasks behind a welcoming streetscape.
- Meet Mamadou and SaliouThe Clean Streets team’s 2022 story.
- Longer days, freshly painted fixturesThe 2025 work, in original photographs.
- Room for new treesMatching replacement planting to each site.
- The ArborScope tree inventoryThe beginnings of the perimeter inventory.
Explore Clean Streets today →
Historic preservation
Preservation at different scales, from architectural details to the effect of a major redevelopment.
- 5 Gramercy Park WestA porch, a stoop and the rhythm of the street.
- 36 Gramercy Park EastTerra cotta and a carefully restored roofline.
- The National Arts ClubA local campaign with wider preservation support.
- The Hotel and its neighborsAdvocacy through change.
Explore historic preservation →
Community service
The connections that turn a neighbor’s contribution into an opportunity for someone else.
- The history of Neighbors Helping NeighborsThe wider network of practical help.
- The LIFT storyScholarships and mentoring documented in the film LIFT.
- A shared playgroundFamilies and professionals care for a public place.
- The Nazareth Housing donation driveA donation drive becomes a connection.
Explore Neighbors Helping Neighbors →
The Trustees’ care of the Park
The Trustees’ stewardship, presented in its own right alongside the Gramercy Park Block Association’s neighborhood history.
- Ruggles’s founding visionThe earlier history of the square.
- Amando Flores, Park caretakerA portrait of the Trustees’ caretaker.
- Caring for the canopyRepeated attention to a living landscape.
- A garden for the shadeThe 2024 moss planting and a continuing place for a lost elm.
- Restoring the Ruggles FountainA recent chapter in restoration.
More from the Trustees’ stewardship record →
