April 19, 2012 – On Thursday, April 19, 2012, New York Restoration Project, a non-profit dedicated to creating a more sustainable New York City, in partnership with the Greening Western Queens Fund, is once again bringing out corporate partners for its fourth annual “Root for New York” Corporate Challenge event. The large-scale volunteering event will plant nearly 200 lush trees in Astoria, Queens.

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March 27, 2012 – New York Restoration Project and its MillionTreesNYC initiative, in partnership with JetBlue Airways, New York’s Hometown Airline, announce today the fifth annual One Thing That’s Green tree planting event. Volunteers are invited to celebrate Earth Day weekend and “Color NYC Green” by participating on Saturday, April 21st in Long Island City, Queens (LIC) from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nearly 100 trees will be planted in the LIC area, including Queensbridge Park, to further beautify this flourishing neighborhood.

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May 25, 2011 – New York Restoration Project (NYRP), founded by award-winning entertainer Bette Midler in 1995 to clean and green New York City parks, community gardens and open spaces, hosted its Tenth Annual Spring Picnic on Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at Gracie Mansion in Manhattan’s Carl Schurz Park. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg joined Midler in celebrating the partnership of NYRP and the City of New York as they work together to plant one million new trees in New York City by 2017. Master of Ceremonies Sherri Shepherd hosted the evening’s lively program that featured music by John Pizzarelli and a rousing Tree Auction led by comedian Judy Gold.

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 May 19, 2011 – New York Restoration Project, KaBOOM! and Disney announced today that a new playground and children’s garden will be built at NYRP’s 103rd Street Community Garden in East Harlem on Thursday, May 19. The new Disney Junior inspired playground and garden will be fully assembled from scratch in less than eight hours with the help of more than 200 community members and students, NYRP staff, Disney VoluntEARS and KaBOOM! organizers. Volunteers will gather for a kickoff ceremony at 8:30 a.m., and will complete the playground build in time for a celebration at 2:30 p.m.

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April 28, 2011 – The New York Restoration Project (NYRP), in partnership with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and our lead sponsors BNP Paribas and Toyota today announced that 100 new trees will be planted at the NYCHA Justice Sonia Sotomayor Houses in the Bronx in celebration of Arbor Day.

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March 29th, 2011 – The New York Restoration Project and its MillionTreesNYC initiative, in partnership with JetBlue Airways, New York’s Hometown Airline, announced today its fourth annual “One Thing That’s Green” tree planting event. Volunteers are invited to participate in the Saturday, April 9th event in Forest Hills, Queens from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Trees will be planted in MacDonald Park, an area that was gravely affected by the September 2010 tornadoes that tore through New York City, uprooting more than 3,000 trees, damaging cars and peeling roofs from houses.

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March 10, 2011 – The U.S. Forest Service and New York Restoration Project (NYRP) announced today the 24 members of the Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests: A National Call to Action task force.

Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests: A National Call to Action is an initiative – being convened by NYRP in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service – that will promote the advancement of urban forestry and natural resources stewardship nationwide.  A group of 24 diverse experts and innovators – national and local non-profit leaders, municipal and state officials, foundation and industry representatives and others – will come together to discuss and recommend how federal policy, programs, partnerships and investment can advance and support urban tree planting and stewardship programs in the next 15 years.

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August, 24, 2010 – Amy L. Freitag has been named Executive Director of New York Restoration Project (NYRP), effective October 1, 2010, announced today by Benjamin F. Needell, chairman of NYRP’s Board of Trustees. Founded by entertainer and philanthropist Bette Midler in 1995, NYRP is a non‐profit organization dedicated to reclaiming and restoring parks, community gardens and open space in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods throughout New York City’s five boroughs. In partnership with the City of New York, NYRP is also leading MillionTreesNYC.

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April 19, 2010 – New York Restoration Project (NYRP), together with presenting sponsor Organic Gardening magazine and in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the National Gardening Association and Union Square Partnership, will host NYC Grows, an environmental-themed public festival that invites New Yorkers to explore community gardening, urban agriculture, sustainability, organic cooking and environmental education. In 2010, NYRP – a New York City-based, environmental non-profit founded by entertainer Bette Midler, celebrates its 15th birthday and the 40th anniversary of Earth Day by transforming this annual community event into a giant celebration of gardening and sustainable living.

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April 20, 2010 - Miguel Nelson’s dream is to someday have New Yorkers walk by walls of plants and pick fresh carrots to eat. His first step to achieving this is creating a “Living Green Wall” of edible plants and native New York plant species in Manhattan’s Union Square that invites passersby to discover an innovative approach to growing vegetation in an urban environment like New York City.

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April 12, 2010 – New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and City Year New York, two of the City’s most respected non-profit organizations, are again joining forces this Earth Day (Thursday, April 22) to bring more natural beauty to the Big Apple. The second annual, one-day “Root for New York” Corporate Challenge will bring together more than 300 employees from some of New York City’s hometown corporations to plant trees in Northern Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

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April 6, 2010 – For the third year in a row, New York’s Hometown Airline JetBlue Airways is inviting hundreds of New Yorkers to do “One Thing That’s Green” by participating in a community tree planting day to support MillionTreesNYC on Saturday, April 17th. The volunteer event will take place from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm in Jamaica, Queens.

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April 1, 2010 – BNP Paribas, the bank for a changing world, announced today that the bank bas has become a lead sponsor of MillionTreesNYC, a citywide tree planting program that is a key component of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s sustainability initiative, PlaNYC 2030. The sponsorship – a $1.5 million investment in the program over 3 years – builds on BNP Paribas’s previous support of the initiative in 2008 and 2009 when it sponsored MillionTreesNYC Month, including an annual Arbor Day celebration and employee tree planting activities.

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April 1, 2010 – To commemorate MillionTreesNYC Month in April, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and New York Restoration Project (NYRP) are inviting all New Yorkers to “put down roots” by planting a tree in their front or backyard, registering a newly planted tree online, volunteering for a community tree planting or watering day, or making a donation.

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Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and revitalizing parks, community gardens and public space in New York City, today announces the opening of The Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden in Jamaica, Queens.  As part of the organization’s continued mission to give the people of New York access to extraordinary green space, NYRP commissioned acclaimed landscape architect and designer, Walter Hood to redesign the NYRP community garden which has been generously underwritten by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson ‘s G-Unity Foundation.

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October 6, 2009 – Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and revitalizing parks, community gardens and public space in New York City, announces the upcoming opening of the Target Bronx Community Garden on October 6, 2009. Underwritten by Target, the garden was designed by nationally acclaimed designer and television host Sean Conway. Conway’s plan joins two existing community gardens with very different histories, creating a gathering space for neighborhood activity as well as a refuge for quiet contemplation.

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October 5, 2009 – Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and New York Restoration Project (NYRP) Founder Bette Midler today celebrated the two-year anniversary of MillionTreesNYC by planting Tree Number 250,000, a Southern Magnolia (Magnolia gradiflora) at the home of Sharon and Thomas Stoney in St. Albans, Queens. The Mayor and Ms. Midler also announced the new “Put Down Roots” pilot program encouraging New York City homeowners to plant trees in their front and backyards. As part of NYC Service, launched by Mayor Bloomberg to answer President Obama’s national call to service, volunteers will knock on doors and inform private homeowners about the benefits of planting trees on their property, as well as to help them obtain free trees to plant. MillionTreesNYC is a public-private partnership between the City of New York and New York Restoration Project (NYRP). At the event, Mayor Bloomberg and Bette Midler were joined by Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, NYRP Executive Director Drew Becher, Chief Service Officer Diahann Billings-Burford, the Stoney family, and NYC Service volunteers.

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September 24, 2009 – Hosted by Kathy Griffin, this year’s Hulaween was a scream of an evening. Beginning with a cocktail party sponsored by Target, guests enjoyed tasty treats created by some of New York City’s top chefs while getting their pictures taken with none other than the real life Target Bullseye dog. The Halloween costume contest was judged by famous American designer Michael Kors, with the first place award going to Joe Conigliaro and Ron Kresl who dressed up as the Mona Lisa and Leonardo Da Vinci.

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June 12, 2009 – Today four of New York City’s most respected environmental organizations – New York Restoration Project (NYRP), Solar One, Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx) and Mount Sinai Center for Children’s Environmental Health – launched the NYC Green Stops Partnership, a citywide campaign aimed at connecting the city’s 2 million youth and their families with the outdoors and nature.

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May 19, 20009 – Over 500 “green enthusiasts” attended Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project’s (NYRP) Eighth Annual Spring Picnic held at the New Leaf Restaurant and Bar in Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park.  With its “Recession Chic” theme, the festive evening delighted the supporters of NYRP’s on-going projects in all five boroughs of New York City.

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May 18, 2009 – Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and revitalizing parks, community gardens and public space in New York City, today celebrated the opening of The Home Depot® Foundation Community Garden, the first community garden and outdoor classroom in New York City to earn the national designation of a certified Nature Explore Classroom from the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation.

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April 24, 2009 – Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning actress Glenn Close joined New York City Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, New York City Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein, New York Restoration Project (NYRP) Executive Director Drew Becher, CEO of BNP Paribas, North America Everett Schenk, and more than 500 New York City public school students, corporate and community volunteers to celebrate Arbor Day today in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn at the first-ever Arbor Day Tree-mendous Challenge.

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April 22, 2009 – In an unprecedented partnership, two of New York City’s most respected non-profit organizations Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and City Year New York (CYNY) are joining forces for the benefit of New York City this April.  Launching “Root for New York” Corporate Challenge on Earth Day, April 22, the organizations have brought together several of the country’s top corporations.

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October 31, 2008 – Hosted by Kathy Griffin, this year’s Hulaween was a scream of an evening. Beginning with a cocktail party sponsored by Target, guests enjoyed tasty treats created by some of New York City’s top chefs while getting their pictures taken with none other than the real life Target Bullseye dog. The Halloween costume contest was judged by famous American designer Michael Kors, with the first place award going to Joe Conigliaro and Ron Kresl who dressed up as the Mona Lisa and Leonardo Da Vinci.

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October 1, 2008 – Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and revitalizing parks, community gardens and public space in New York City, today announces the opening of the Target East Harlem Community Garden.  Underwritten by Target, the garden was designed by nationally acclaimed designer and television host Sean Conway.  Using cutting-edge sustainable technology to eliminate dependence on outside energy, Conway’s design provides the East Harlem community a truly green space in which to relax, garden and enjoy time outdoors.

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May 19, 2008 – Bette Midler was joined by Toyota’s Shigeru Hayakawa at New York Restoration Project’s seventh annual Spring Picnic at the recently-opened Toyota Children’s Learning Garden in the Lower East Side. Entitled, “Flower Power,” the gala benefit will celebrate the 35th anniversary of the first community garden opening in New York City. A night of movin’ and groovin’, Katie Couric and Tony Bennett will also join guests.

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May 14, 2008 – Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing and revitalizing parks, community gardens and public spaces in New York City, today announces the debut of The Toyota Children’s Learning Garden in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood.  The garden, which was designed by renowned landscape architect and New Yorker Michael Van Valkenburgh and generously funded by Toyota, has been designed with the neighborhood children in mind.

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May 10, 2008 – Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing and revitalizing parks, community gardens and public spaces in New York City, today opens Brooklyn’s new Garden of Hope to the public.  The garden was designed by renowned New York interior designer and Brooklyn native, Ellie Cullman of Manhattan interior design firm Cullman & Kravis.

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April 25, 2008 – Commissioner Adrian Benepe and New York Restoration Project (NYRP) Founder Bette Midler were joined today by Oscar® winning actress Marcia Gay Harden, singer-songwriter Brendan James, Blue Man Group and adult and youth volunteers for an Arbor Day community celebration and tree planting event in McCarren Park in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The 500 volunteers included 200 employees from MillionTreesNYC Month sponsor BNP Paribas, members of the Brooklyn community and New York City public school students from Children for Children who turned out in celebration of an extremely successful MillionTreesNYC Month.

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April 1, 2008 – Mayor Bloomberg today issued a proclamation naming April 2008 as MillionTreesNYC Month in New York City. Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe presented the Mayoral Proclamation in Seward Park in downtown Manhattan. MillionTreesNYC Month, presented by BNP Paribas, coincides with the arrival of spring and aims to raise public awareness for MillionTreesNYC, a public-private partnership between the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (Parks) and Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project (NYRP) through which one million new trees will be planted and cared for throughout the five boroughs by 2017.

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March 31, 2008 – JetBlue Airways is challenging New Yorkers to do “One Thing That’s Green” on Saturday, April 19th from 9:00am-4:30pm at Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem to help build awareness of the environment and make NYC a little greener.

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