How to Adopt a Bench in Central Park, New York

Central Park's most famous benches can be sponsored by anyone. Here's how the adoption program works.

What does it mean to “adopt” a bench?

Want to leave a permanent mark on New York? Here’s an original idea: adopt a bench in Central Park. Since 1986, the “Adopt a Bench” program has let New Yorkers and visitors sponsor one of the park’s 9,000 benches.
Here’s how it works: For a financial contribution, you can place a plaque on your chosen bench with your name or a message of your choice. You’ll also receive an official certificate.
So far, just over 4,100 benches have been adopted. Permanence comes at a price: $10,000 gets your name on a bench. The money funds maintenance of the benches and surrounding gardens.
You’re free to write whatever you like on your plaque, as long as it respects the law and good taste. One quiet path features a bench reading “For my wonderful mom.” Check out some of the most beautiful messages on Central Park benches.

To get your own bench in Central Park, call +1 212 310 6617 or email benches@centralparknyc.org.
You can also give a bench as a gift: the recipient can choose whatever message appears on the plaque. “Adopt a bench for a birthday, a new baby, exam success—it’s the perfect gift for any occasion,” says the Conservancy.
It’s also a lovely Valentine’s Day gift. “A bench is a wonderful way to honor someone you love,” the park’s Conservancy notes.

If $10,000 is out of reach, there’s a more affordable way to support the park: become a member. Membership costs much less. A $50 donation makes you a “Gardener.” At $100, you become an “Arborist.” $1,000 gets you “Belvedere Knight” status, and $2,500 makes you an “Angel of Bethesda,” named after the fountain at the park’s heart.
Members receive a park map, a regular newsletter, and various discounts at partner shops. Benefits increase with your membership level.
For an original gift, you can also sponsor a flower in Central Park. You’re not uprooting anything—you’re simply funding the park’s flower plantings. Gardeners will plant a tulip, daffodil, or chrysanthemum in honor of someone you choose for a minimum donation of $50.
Once planted, the recipient gets an email letting them know their flower is growing in the park. In the same spirit, you can adopt one of Central Park’s 22,000 trees. Prices start at $500 and go up to $25,000. But there’s nothing quite like napping in the shade of your own tree in Central Park!