Listen: Here's Why You're Not Allowed Inside Gramercy Park, Manhattan's Only Private Park

Play Audio

Gramercy Fence | (with Mom bokeh)

A trip into NYC (where I was born and raised) with my Mom on Monday gave my inspiration a kickstart. I had such a nice time. Thanks, Mom!

Happy Fence Friday all, and if I don't get a chance to wish you a Happy Mother's Day before Sunday, have one of those too!

NYC: Gramercy Park | Gramercy Park (sometimes misspelled as Grammercy) is a small, fenced-in private park bounded by E 20th St, E 21st St, Park Avenue S, and 3rd Avenue, in Gramerce. Normally accessible only to residents of certain townhouses in the area who have keys to the park, nearby residents may buy visiting priviliges and it is open to the public on Christmas Day, Yom Kippur and Gramercy Day (which chanes early, but is often the first Saturday in May). It is the only remaining private park in Manhattan.

The name "Gramercy" is almost certainly a corruption of the Dutch word "krom mesje," or "little crooked knife," the name of a small brook that flowed along what is now 21st Street. The area was originally a swamp when Samuel B. Ruggles bought it from James Duane and turned it into part of Gramercy Farm. In 1831 Ruggles donated the property to the city on condition that no commercial enterprise be permitted on the facing streets or in the park proper. To this day, the park contains no amusements, swing sets, snack shops or any other intrusions on its rusticity.

The center of the park contains a statue of one of the area's most famous residents, Edwin Booth. Booth was one of the great Shakespearean actors of 19th century America, as well as the brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.

Gramercy Park 01 | A 0.8 ha private park in the middle of Manhattan, only people residing around it who pay an annual fee have a key. Like most private outdoors amenities (balconies, terraces) in Manhattan, it is very much underused - lolling about for all to see is not acceptable behaviour in this part of town.

In this recent This is New York podcast from our friends at DNAinfo, listen to the 'Mayor' of Manhattan's private Gramercy Park, Arlene Harrison, explain why us plebeians are not allowed inside.

Gramercy Park, that secluded, beautiful and extremely exclusive greenspace, is one of just two private parks in New York City.[…]Each lot surrounding the park has to pay annual maintenance fees for the space — in 2014 it was $7,500. The annual fee gets each lot two keys and residents of those buildings can choose to buy an additional key of their own for $350 more.

Check out the accompanying story for more.

via DNAinfo

history
parks

Gramercy Park

New York, NY
gramercyparkblockassociation.org

Matt Coneybeare

Editor in Chief

Matt enjoys exploring the City's with his partner and son. He is an avid marathon runner, and spends most of his time eating, running, and working on cool stuff.

Posts by Matt Coneybeare

Something wrong with this post? Let us know!