Here's Where Harlemites Can Drop Their Christmas Trees

HARLEM — Instead of leaving your Christmas tree on the sidewalk after the holidays this year, there is a less wasteful way to dispose of the used-up conifer — drop it at one of the city's dozens of mulch sites, including a few in Harlem.

This year, "Mulchfest" runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 8. It includes four tree drop-off sites in Harlem, where the Parks Department will take each tree and break it into wood chips to nourish city parks.

A few of the sites will also offer free mulch for New Yorkers to take home and nourish their own gardens or street trees. (Harlem does not have any of these so-called "chipping" sites, however.)

Trees can be dropped off at any Mulchfest location during park hours until Jan. 8.

Here are the Mulchfest sites around Harlem:

• Marcus Garvey Park: East 120th Street and Madison Avenue (drop-off only)
• Morningside Park: West 123rd Street and Morningside Avenue (drop-off only)
• St. Nicholas Park: One block south of West 133rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue (drop-off only)
• Col. Charles Young Playground: 145th Street and Lenox Avenue (drop-off only)

Remember to take off all lights, ornaments and netting before bringing a tree to a Mulchfest site, the Parks Department asks.

For those determined to get their own free bag of mulch, the closest "chipping sites" to Harlem include Riverside Drive and West 83rd Street; Central Park West and West 81st Street; and Inwood Hill Park at Isham Street and Seaman Avenue.

In 2020, Mulchfest collected 48,230 trees for recycling, from residents as well as tree vendors who dropped off their unsold trees. The event has run for more than 20 years.

View the full list of Mulchfest sites around New York here.