The Battery Conservancy was founded to revitalize New York’s birthplace park and its major landmark, Castle Clinton National Monument. The Conservancy designs, builds, maintains, and activates the historic Battery’s 25-acres of public parkland at the southern tip of Manhattan. In partnership with the City of New York’s Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service, the Conservancy brings inspired vision and targeted resources to the park.
It continues to spearhead the revitalization of the city’s birthplace inspired by an ethos of environmental stewardship, historical authenticity, design excellence, innovative education, and openness to all.
Today, The Battery, the thriving green heart of Downtown New York, is a model of conservation and biodiversity with vast public gardens, organic urban farms, toxin-free lawns and SeaGlass, the innovative aquarium carousel.
The Battery Conservancy was established in 1994 to revitalize and rebuild The Battery. The park entered a period of decline in the late 20th century and lost its place as a popular destination for New Yorkers and tourists. The Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization, brought a renewed vision to the public space.
Over the last 30 years, the Conservancy has pumped new life into The Battery and raised capital to transform the once dilapidated and rundown dustbowl into a tranquil public garden and outdoor oasis. Through the successful initiatives listed below, The Battery has become a model of conservation and biodiversity efforts.
The Battery Conservancy and design team of WXY architecture + urban design conceived and led the development of SeaGlass Carousel to provide children and adults a virtual underwater experience. The innovative aquarium carousel opened in August of 2015. Located in the midst of an urban waterfront park, SeaGlass was inspired by the ocean’s marine life and The Battery’s history as the original home of the New York Aquarium, which opened in 1896.
240,000 square feet of perennial gardens, the largest in North America free and open to the public every day. Since its founding in 1994, The Battery Conservancy has demonstrated that public parkland can become a paradise of plants achieved through the breathtaking beauty of gardens. Visited by over 7 millions people each year, The Battery was the first New York City public park to introduce a horticultural landscape without fences or an admission fee.
The Battery Conservancy created Battery Urban Farm to engage students, residents, and visitors in sustainable farming techniques, the joys of tasting new foods, and environmental stewardship. Today, the farm annually welcomes nearly 5,000 students from more than 100 schools throughout the five boroughs and beyond.
Together with the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation, The Battery Conservancy transformed half the acreage of the park, creating The Battery Oval, Bikeway, and Woodland. The effort turned more than an acre of hard surface into green lawns and winding gardens and restored and relocated historic monuments to the park’s highly trafficked perimeter.
Peter Minuit Plaza is New York City’s busiest intermodal transportation hub, serving cyclists and pedestrians, as well as riders of ferries, subways, and buses. Following nearly two decades of effort to transform a forlorn street plaza of broken concrete into a bustling square, the plaza opened to the public in 2011.
Receive news about upcoming events, stories, and more.
