"Empty lots became dumping grounds for abandoned cars, tires, drug waste, and heaps of trash. By 1995, the situation was dire. That year, while driving her daughter to school on Manhattan's Upper West Side, Midler noticed the dismal conditions in Fort Tryon Park. Disturbed by the neglect, she got a group of friends together to clean and restore the site. From their hands grew the seed of what would eventually become NYRP."
"Today, the organization owns and operates 51 community gardens throughout all five New York boroughs, as well as dozens of parks, focusing on underserved neighborhoods. The gardens are part of a land trust funded by a mixture of private donations and corporate and government funding, and through an annual Halloween fundraiser, which take place on Oct. 24 this year. A year-round staff of 35 manages the gardens, plus another 15 during peak growing season."
Chronic underfunding left many New York public spaces neglected since the 1970s, with empty lots becoming dumping grounds for abandoned cars, tires, drug waste, and trash. In 1995 Bette Midler organized friends to clean Fort Tryon Park, an effort that grew into the New York Restoration Project. The nonprofit now owns and operates 51 community gardens across all five boroughs and manages dozens of parks, prioritizing underserved neighborhoods. The gardens sit in climate-vulnerable areas and provide shade, gathering space, and protection from extreme heat, sea-level rise, and storms. A land trust finances the sites through private, corporate, and government funding and an annual Halloween fundraiser. A year-round staff of 35, plus 15 seasonal workers, maintains the gardens.
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