Established in 2001, NY4P’s Daffodil Project is the largest volunteer effort in NYC history. It is is a living memorial to the victims of 9/11 and Covid-19, a celebration of the New Yorkers championing parks equity in their communities, and a catalyst for citywide civic engagement advancing NY4P's call for 1% of the city budget for NYC Parks.

For the project's 21st year, NY4P gave out 750,000 bulbs to thousands of New Yorkers in every borough!

We held distribution events at Union Square, Manhattan; Brookfield Park, Staten Island; Mill Pond Park, the Bronx; Queens; Forest Park, Queens; and Prospect Park, Brooklyn.

This year, we invested in making the Daffodil Project easier and more efficient for those picking up bulbs. We started by using new software to manage our registration system, which streamlined the process, and continued with better signage at the distribution events themselves.

The Daffodil Project has become a beloved civic program that contributes to the beauty and vibrancy of New York City's parks and public spaces. It’s also an incredible vehicle for engaging New Yorkers in the care and stewardship of the public realm. We’re so grateful to our generous donors for helping make the project happen, and to the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who picked up and planted bulbs this fall.

We're already looking forward to the sea of yellow blooms next spring. Thank you to all the volunteers and project participants, and of course to our amazing partners at the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.

Special thanks to our longtime Daffodil Project supporters: Con Edison, Delta Air Lines, Citi, and the Greenacre Foundation, and our generous individual donors.

 

Questions? Check out our FAQ for answers and resources.

Looking to get involved? Fill out our volunteer survey to be contacted about volunteer opportunities at distributions next fall.

New Yorkers for Parks’ Daffodil Project is the largest annual volunteer effort in NYC history, conceived as a living memorial to the victims of September 11. Since the Daffodil Project’s inception in 2002, over nine million daffodil bulbs have been distributed for free, planted by thousands of volunteers in the fall, and celebrated as some of the first flowers to bloom come spring.

In the aftermath of 9/11, Dutch bulb supplier Hans van Waardenburg and the City of Rotterdam sent NYC a million daffodils – a gift facilitated by NY4P Board Member and public garden designer Lynden Miller. That fall, 10,000 volunteers joined NY4P and then-Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe to plant the bulbs in every borough. In 2007, Mayor Bloomberg named the daffodil the city’s official flower.

Throughout twenty years of bulb distributions, plantings, and perennial blooms, the Daffodil Project’s mission has grown. Today, the project serves as a catalyst for citywide parks stewardship and civic engagement advancing NY4P’s call for 1% of the city budget for NYC Parks, a celebration of the New Yorkers championing parks equity and resilience in their communities, and a memorial for the victims of September 11 and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Click here to browse an interactive map of all 2019 Daffodil Project plantings.

 

For all questions about the Daffodil Project and how it works, please email at ny4p@ny4p.org

For all questions about corporate partnership opportunities, please email Kristen Gelinas at kgelinas@ny4p.org

For all press and media inquiries, please email ny4p@berlinrosen.com

 

Your support is essential to making the Daffodil Project a reality! NY4P gives away bulbs for free, which would not be possible without our generous supporters.

Sponsorship Opportunities

Our corporate supporters underwrite NY4P’s substantial costs in organizing and sustaining this citywide volunteer effort, as well as purchasing bulbs, which are given away for free. 

The Daffodil Project is especially focused on areas of the city that do not have the capacity to generate private or philanthropic dollars. Your support helps bridge this gap, to commemorate the victims of 9/11, and beautify spaces for residents to enjoy.

To find out more about this year's sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kristen Gelinas at kgelinas@ny4p.org

 

The Daffodil Project wouldn’t be possible without the help of our partners. We would like to especially recognize Con Edison, key supporters of the Daffodil Project since 2003.