Village Voice Interviews Arlene Harrison, the Warden of Gramercy Park

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 a recent article from our friends over at the Village Voice, let the 'Warden' of Manhattan's private Gramercy Park, Arlene Harrison, explain why us plebeians are not allowed inside, and what they do to accomodate us.

But let me tell you, around the rim of that park is a place to sit all around. We plant shrubbery all the time, and we make sure that it’s visibly accessible to people, so they can look in. We could have put shrubbery so you couldn’t see a damn thing. We purposefully didn’t wall it off. Hundreds of people sit there. And they see it, and they enjoy it, and they love it. And they don’t have to go in it. But they can see it as well as you can see it from inside.

Check out the full interview for more.

via Village Voice

Gramercy Park

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

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