In spring, thoughts turn to nature. So it figures that Central Park: An Anthology (Bloomsbury, $16), featuring writers like Susan Cheever, David Michaelis, Mark Helprin, Jonathan Safran Foer and Bill Buford, and in part benefiting the Central Park Conservancy, which runs Manhattan's 843-acre masterpiece of landscape architecture, should have just hit stores. So, too, that on the night of June 6, the conservancy hosts its annual Taste of Summer party at the park's Bethesda Terrace. A donation of $400 ($10,000 to $20,000 for tables) will buy you grub from 40 city restaurants—including '21,' Armani Ristorante, Benoit, Circo and Le Cirque, Ser-endipity, SD26 and Swifty's—entrée to a silent auction and dancing under the stars.
Less visibly, the conservancy has launched a program that hits me where I live, on the park's periphery, which has lately renewed its claim to be the city's hottest residential zone, home of Dmitry Rybolovlev's (or is it his daughter's?) $88 million spread at 15 Central Park West, Steve Wynn's $70 million duplex at the Ritz-Carlton and composer Igor Krutoy's $48 million condo at the Plaza Hotel. Their backyard, Central Park, accounts for their premium price tags. Small wonder, then, that four years ago, the conservancy commissioned a survey of the neighbors' contributions to the park's upkeep. The result was what Terri Coppersmith, vice president for development and visitor experience, dubbed its Ambassador Program, which honors parkside buildings that cough up the most cash for upkeep.According to the conservancy, 550,000 people live within a 10-minute walk of the park, 65% of the 40 million or so bodies who enter annually are regulars (presumably neighbors) who come once a week or more, 31% use it every day, and yet only 55,000 generous souls help pay the 85% of its budget that is raised privately."We'd always targeted neighborhood buildings," said Doug Blonsky, president of the conservancy. "But we'd never drilled down to find out which held the donors." Now they have, and the picture is nowhere near as pretty as the park on a June day. On average, only 17% of parkside apartments have chipped in to maintain their backyard since 2010, according to Ms. Coppersmith. To increase that number, the conservancy began recruiting those ambassadors to advocate for the park and started celebrating buildings like Hampshire House, the San Remo and 1040 and 1150 Fifth, where at least half the apartments have contributed to the conservancy.The conservancy also recruits developers and businesses operating near the park. So Arthur and Will Zeckendorf, developers of 15 Central Park West, bought each initial purchaser there a one-year conservancy membership, but only 16 of 201 households activated them. Ms. Coppersmith doesn't buy the argument that for many, it's their second, third or fourth home. "Whether they live here or not, the park elevates the value of their apartments," she reasoned. "They need us."The same goes for all the trophy buildings ringing the park. "At your home in the country, you pay for a gardener," one ambassador tells the neighbors he targets. "Double that and give it to the conservancy. We take better care of it, and it's a better asset."Writing this persuaded me to buy a membership. How about you?Michael Gross: A good cause in our backyard
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This week in Crain's: June 3, 2012
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