The 13th Precinct Remembrance Garden

A memorial that could be tended

The archive records a remembrance garden in front of the 13th Precinct, created to honor officers lost in the World Trade Center attacks. Plantings were revisited around Easter, Memorial Day, September 11 and Christmas, turning remembrance into a visible part of neighborhood life.

2002

Schoolchildren helped it take root

A May 9, 2002 report records Epiphany kindergarten pupils planting the garden with teachers, parents and the Gramercy Park Block Association. The Sakas family of Gramercy Park Florist donated planters, flowers and trees. The garden honored Robert Fazio, Moira Smith and Brian McDonnell.

The May 9, 2002 article places the planting in the preceding week. Its photograph shows children and adults together at the precinct.

Children, neighbors and first responders

Photographs and notices show the garden as a shared undertaking: neighbors, police officers and children participating in plantings and moments of gratitude. A plaque reading “NYPD YOU MAKE US PROUD” offered a simple message of thanks to officers.

A relationship carried forward

The garden sits within a wider history of the Block Association’s support for the 13th Precinct and Emergency Service Unit, including annual remembrance gatherings, meals and the Explorers program. They grew from years of working together and returning to remember those who were lost.

2015

Care across the seasons

In its April 7, 2015 newsletter, the Block Association thanked Kathleen Scupp for the years she had spent maintaining the garden at the precinct. Seasonal plantings marked Easter, Memorial Day, September 11 and Christmas, bringing flowers to the memorial as these occasions came around.

A separate memorial inside the Park

The Christmas Grove behind the Ruggles Fountain is another neighborhood memorial, documented in a 2011 Trustees letter. It is distinct from this garden at the precinct.