This Queens park has gone from mob to mulch.
Clocheron and John's Golden Park were once seedy places where gangsters and escaped convicts hung out. They were hanging out at a long-closed bar. However, it is currently flourishing as the only public arboretum in the ward.
The 64-acre park in Bayside is home to more than 30 species of trees. These include the impressive Ginkgo biloba associated with Boss Tweed, which was named to the city's 2024 'Great Trees' list.
“I like to think of Clocheron as a destination park,” Jessica Burke, founder and president of Friends of Clocheron and John Golden Park, told the Post.
“When you go to different parks, you get a sense of community in different ways through the people you meet there and the different art installations there.”
Burke, a 35-year-old Bayside native and longtime admirer of the park, was instrumental in obtaining ArbNet certification for the popular green space last year after finding inspiration at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis.
The global tree organization has designated the two parcels, which operate as one large park, as a Level 1 Arboretum in 2023. This means at least 25 species of woody plants, at least one employee, a management organization, and an arboretum plan.
“I think of this place as a tree museum. There's careful planning so we can introduce new trees, there's an open event every year, and there's a thoughtful curation of what's here. We're looking forward to the future. “We also have plans for this,” Burke explained.
Although the lowest of the four levels, this status makes the mixed green space, colloquially known as Clocheron Park, the only public park in Queens touting such certification, and the city's But it is one of the few public parks.
The only other certified green spaces in the borough are the private Queens Botanic Gardens and Forest Hills Gardens, an upscale green space in an affluent neighborhood.
The privately run Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, and Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx also boast certification, and Madison Square Park is the only other Park Service-operated green space to receive ArbNet certification and, like Clocheron, 1.
Clocheron and John Golden Park has at least 30 species of trees planted across 64 acres, including amber, Amur cork, sweetgum, and ginkgo (commonly known as ginkgo).
“The ginkgo tree is one of the big trees in New York City parks,” Burke said, pointing to the 82-foot giant.
The tree, towering behind the baseball field, was once on the grounds of the Clocheron Hotel, a notorious waterfront watering hole and hangout for mobsters and corrupt politicians.
“I call it the Witness Tree,” Burke continued. “I think this tree could still be a witness tree even if it didn’t witness the Battle of Gettysburg or something like that. It was here.”
Notorious Tammany Hall leader William McGeer “Boss” Tweed used the hotel as a hideout in 1875 after escaping from Ludlow Street Jail after being accused of stealing millions of taxpayers' money. used as.
Tweed fled to Spain aboard a schooner at a waterfront hotel, where he worked as a general seaman for a year before being recognized by a political cartoonist and drawn back to the United States.
The story goes that hotelier Joseph Clocheron kept his friend's room in its original condition until the building burned down in 1907.
New York City purchased the land where the hotel once stood in 1924 and transformed it into the vast public field it is today. Public space was expanded to an additional 19 acres in 1955 when Broadway legend John Golden bequeathed his adjacent property to the community.
Despite its rich and storied history, the park has become something of a hidden treasure, but Burke hopes the recognition will put it on the map again.
With the certification, Crocheron is already making progress. The park became the first urban park to implement multilingual identification tags for 30 identified species, which helped achieve Level 1 status.
Additionally, Burke hopes this attention will help secure a larger share of city spending for the Parks Department.
As it stands, Parks will receive just 0.5% of the roughly $110 billion budget. That means the department would have to distribute $582 million to about 30,000 acres of parks in five boroughs.
“New York City Parks has always been proud to celebrate the beautiful and diverse trees that grow throughout the city, and this new way to strengthen stewardship and celebrate our green spaces will strengthen our stewardship and create new ways to celebrate our green spaces,” said Parks Department spokesperson Judd Faulkner. “We are supporting the work of partner organizations and community groups to find the right people.” In a statement.
Members of the friend group said they have no plans to slow down, and earning Level II certification is part of a five-year plan.
Green space managers continue to plant new trees whenever possible and plan to introduce a white oak for Tree Appreciation Day on Nov. 9.
