About
Watch an independent 2024 documentary about St. Vartan Park that features St. Vartan Park Conservancy and the Conservancy’s leadership on accessibility (above)
St. Vartan Park Conservancy
Founded in the spring of 2022, the nonprofit St. Vartan Park Conservancy acts on behalf of the public to improve St. Vartan Park and its surrounding community.
This rare winter sighting of the American woodcock, also known as the timberdoodle, was captured on the east side of the St. Vartan Park garden on January 2, 2023
The 2.76-acre park is located near the East River in Manhattan’s Murray Hill-Kips Bay community and is bordered by First and Second Avenues and 35th and 36th Streets.
In 2024, NYC Parks and the Conservancy forged an agreement that grants the Conservancy formal leadership roles. The pact was the earliest ever secured by a Manhattan conservancy following launch. The all-volunteer organization is governed by a board of directors.
The Conservancy’s park role includes its service as official steward of the St. Vartan Park garden in cooperation with NYC Parks.
Before he founded the Conservancy, East Midtown Manhattan community leader Kevin O’Keefe led an advocacy campaign that successfully opened the park’s city-owned garden to the general public for a trial period after decades of closure. The garden’s perpetual public access started in sync with the formation of the Conservancy.
In November 2024 with the addition of a fully accessible enhanced garden entrance and new pathway, the Conservancy completed a celebrated five-phase garden equity plan that values inclusivity, diversity, mental health and other community needs in accord with New York State human rights law. The garden serves as the community’s emblematic village green.
The largest public park east of Fifth Avenue between 26th Street and 76th Street, St. Vartan Park is property of the City of New York under the jurisdiction of NYC Parks.
In addition to the garden, the park includes a playground, athletic field, sports courts (including for basketball, handball and pickleball), a park building, public restrooms, picnic tables, and a Little Free Library.
