The Garden People

The 91st Street Garden in Riverside Park is a long, lush promenade defined by its two distinct, sculpted parcels—an octagon and a rectangle—that bloom with hibiscus, irises, and roses from spring through late autumn. It was established in nineteen eighty-one by a group of volunteers who had previously maintained a community plot on a vacant lot at 96th Street and Broadway. When that site was slated for the construction of a condominium, the original fifteen members sought a new home for their garden, eventually securing permission from the Parks Department to transform this stretch of the riverfront.