In 1995, Bette Midler looked at neglected parks in New York City and decided that simply accepting their condition was not an option. What began with the entertainer and a group of volunteers picking up garbage in northern Manhattan eventually became the New York Restoration Project, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring parks, community gardens and other underused green spaces. Three decades later, NYRP has become a major force in urban greening, with an impact that extends across all five boroughs. Its 30-year record includes more than 200,000 trees planted, hundreds of public green spaces built or restored and millions of pounds of trash removed. Today, NYRP describes its mission around the idea that access to nature should be available to every New Yorker.
The story of NYRP began at a time when many New York City parks were suffering from years of neglect, pollution and inadequate investment. Midler, who had returned to the city that helped launch her career, was struck by the deteriorating condition of public spaces. She recruited friends and family to help clear garbage from Fort Tryon Park and Fort Washington Park in northern Manhattan. At Fort Washington Park, more than 100 volunteers joined the cleanup effort in July 1995.
