Where To Drop Your Christmas Tree In Midtown, Hell's Kitchen

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Instead of leaving your Christmas tree on the sidewalk after the holidays this year, there's a less wasteful way to dispose of the used-up conifer: drop it at one of the city's dozens of mulch sites.

This year, "Mulchfest 2022" runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 9. It includes tree drop-off sites around Manhattan, 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.

Here are this year's Mulchfest sites in and around Midtown and Hell's Kitchen:

• Central Park: West 65th Street and Central Park West (drop-off only)
• DeWitt Clinton Park: West 53rd Street and 11th Avenue (drop-off only)
• Union Square Park: Union Square East between East 16th Street and East 17th Street (drop-off only)
• Stuyvesant Town: East 20th Street at 20th Street Loop, east of First Avenue (drop-off only)

The chipping sites are open the weekend of Jan. 8-9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. People are asked to bring their own bags to take some free mulch home.

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

Between Jan. 6-15, the Sanitation Department will also collect and compost clean trees left on curbs around the city.

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