Riverside Park Conservancy Names New Leader

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The organization that runs one of the Upper West Side's largest parks has a new leader after the Riverside Park Conservancy on Tuesday announced Merritt Birnbaum as its next president and chief executive officer.

Birnbaum, who is taking over from former Council Member Dan Garodnick, has served as the executive director of the Friends of Governor's Island since 2015.

“Riverside Park is one of our city’s most stunning and unique parks, and it is a vital part of daily life for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers,” Birnbaum said in a news release. “At a time when the health benefits of quality outdoor space have never been more recognized, I am honored to lead this extraordinary institution through its next growth chapter."

The Conservancy looks over and manages the park that runs for six miles along the Hudson River from 59th to 181st Street.

It was founded in 1986 as a nonprofit partner to the New York City Parks Department, and currently operates with a budget of almost $9 million — employing a staff of 49 people.

As the new CEO, Birnbaum will be charged with "expanding the Conservancy's mission and its capacity to care for the park," reads the news release.

“From all of us at NYC Parks, I would like to offer our sincere congratulations to Merritt Birnbaum on her new appointment as President & CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue in the news release.

As mentioned above, Birnbaum is replacing Garodnick, who led the Conservancy from 2018 until the beginning of this year, at which time he joined Mayor Eric Adam's administration as the new chair of the City Planning Commission.

Birnbaum will begin her new job on Sept. 7.