180K Daffodils Will Be Distributed Sunday At Grand Army Plaza

PARK SLOPE, NY — It may be fall in New York, but the daffodils are still in bloom, and they’re headed to Grand Army Plaza.

On Sunday, New Yorkers for Parks, a nonprofit that has distributed a total of 8 million free daffodil bulbs in memory of the victims of 9/11, will distribute 180,000 more in Park Slope. The distribution event, which will take on the west side of Grand Army Plaza from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., is the final one of the fall season.

This year, New Yorkers for Parks has enlisted 50,000 volunteers to plant one million daffodils across the five boroughs, according to a company news release. Since the organization was founded in the aftermath of 9/11, more than 400,000 students, civic organizations, and corporate volunteers have planted a total of 8 million daffodils all over the city’s public spaces as a symbol of rebirth and resilience in the wake of tragedy.

The tradition started after a gift from the Dutch city of Rotterdam, and Hans van Waardenburg, a Dutch bulb supplier, gifted the city one million daffodil bulbs after 9/11. The Parks Department helped enlist 10,000 volunteers to plant the bulbs across the city. In 2007, Mayor Michael Bloomberg named the daffodil the official flower of New York City.

This fall, distributions have taken place at Brookfield Park on Staten Island, Union Square, Far Rockaway in Queens, Mill Pond Park in the Bronx, and the Overlook at Forest Park. Though the Grand Army Plaza event will be the last distribution event of the season, planting events will continue until the first winter frost. The next planting will take place on Tuesday at 11 a.m. in front of the George M. Cohan statue and the World Trade Center, in coordination with the Times Square Alliance.

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