Purpose
The Community Projects Committee identifies organizations in New York City which need funding for projects. The committee reviews proposals from these organizations and recommends those to the board that they think align best with our mission: to preserve, enrich and increase the natural beauty of the New York City environment for the public benefit through education, horticulture, conservation, and other related undertakings.
Projects Funded
In 2025, The City Gardens Club gave $10,000 for 20 trees at Riverside Park South. This is a newly built park that changes a heavily used industrial rail yard site into a park space with plantings, strategies for storm water management and, most importantly, spaces for the public to come and experience the water, exercise, relax, and play.
In 2024, The Governors Island Foundation’s Fort Jay Meadow Project was awarded $30,000 in to support the creation of the largest native wildflower meadow in Manhattan. This unique and high-visibility project will serve as a valuable resource for New Yorkers across all five boroughs who will have the opportunity to visit and experience the Fort Jay Meadow on Governors Island for years to come.
In 2024, The Queens Botanical Garden was awarded a special project grant of $25,000 to support the rehabilitation of its iconic, 50-year-old crabapple orchard. As part of this effort, QBG will gradually replace aging trees by planting 25 mid-sized, disease-resistant varieties, ensuring the orchard’s continued vitality and beauty for future generations.
In 2024, The CGC established a $5,000 scholarship fund at the New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture to support the next generation of horticultural professionals. The scholarship was granted again in 2025.
In 2024, The CGC donated $10,000 to the City of New York to fund the Story Avenue Trees project, which supported the planting of five trees at 1776 Story Avenue, just off the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx. Planted by NYC Parks, the selection included chestnut oaks, honey locusts, and Kentucky coffee trees—enhancing the urban landscape and contributing to the ecological vitality of the neighborhood.
In 2021, The CGC supported the refurbishment of the Smokestack Lawn at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden. This area underwent significant improvements aligned with CGC’s mission to promote the preservation and restoration of green spaces. The project focused on upgrading existing infrastructure and enhancing the visitor experience, transforming the lawn into a relaxing and welcoming hub for all who visit.
Our Centennial Project 0f 2018: Restoration and beautification of Morningside Park in Harlem in the area of the pond and waterfall. For more information and photos click here.
In 2014, after the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, The City Gardens Club underwrote landscape restoration of the Queens Rockaway Parks, Bayswater Park, and the area surrounding the playground at Beach 28th Street.
In 2011, The City Gardens Club supported landscape restoration and expansion of educational programs at Von King Park in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
In 2008, the CGC participated in the funding of green roofs in 2008 in the South Bronx, one at the Bronx Design and Construction Academy and the other at Rocking the Boat, a youth development program, both in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Sustainable South Bronx.
In 2005, the CGC supported landscape restoration and the creation of a nature map for a portion of St. Nicholas Park in Upper Manhattan. This project aimed to enhance the park’s natural features while providing visitors with an educational resource to explore and better understand the area’s ecological and botanical diversity.
To commemorate its 85th anniversary in 2003, The CGC launched a special project: the installation of teaching gardens at public libraries, in collaboration with The Horticultural Society of New York. This initiative brought educational green spaces to two key locations: the Aguilar Library in East Harlem, Manhattan, and the Stone Avenue Library in Brownsville, Brooklyn.