Trim the Tree, Spread the Cheer: Mulchfest, NYC Parks’ Annual Holiday Upcycling Celebration, Kicks Off Thursday, December 26

Photo: NYC Parks / Daniel Avila

Mulchfest 2025 Chipping Weekend: On January 11 and 12, bring your tree and take a bag of mulch home! 

Five new sites have been added to the celebration this year, in addition to two new drop-off sites at Brooklyn Bridge Park

The holiday season is here, and so is NYC Parks’ annual Mulchfest tree chipping celebration! Beginning December 26, New Yorkers can “tree”-cycle their holiday trees at local parks, with convenient drop-off sites in all five boroughs. Citi is pleased to sponsor this year’s Mulchfest and contribute to sustainable solutions that help build more resilient cities and communities. This year, Parks will be hosting a “chipping weekend,” where New Yorkers can watch their holiday trees get chipped: January 11 and 12 from 10am – 2pm. On these days, residents can bring their tree to a chipping site, watch their tree be chipped, and bring a bag of nutrient-rich mulch home with them.  

“Mulchfest is as much about nourishing our city’s living infrastructure as it is about building community, by bringing neighbors together to practice sustainability and environmental responsibility. Last year, New Yorkers truly outdid themselves, recycling over 46,000 trees, and we’re hoping to better that total for 2025,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “We’re grateful to everyone who helps make this event a success each year, especially our partners at Citi. Let’s make Mulchfest 2025 one to remember!”    

“There is no better way to close out the holidays than by bringing your tree to Mulchfest and watching it turn into something that will help our city become greener and better all year round,” said Ed Skyler, Head of Enterprise Services & Public Affairs at Citi. “Citi is proud to support this wonderful tradition in our hometown.” 

 
On December 26, drop-offs begin at 75 sites citywide, including: 

Bronx: 

• Friends of Brook Park Community Garden 

• Pelham Bay Park 

• Van Cortlandt Park (at the Golf Course) 

Brooklyn: 

• Prospect Park (at Prospect Park West and 3rd Street) 

• McCarren Park 

• McGolrick Park  

Manhattan: 

• Marcus Garvey Park  

• Central Park (at W. 65th Street, W. 81st Street and E 106th St) 

• Washington Square Park 

Staten Island: 

• Conference House Parking Lot 

• Clove Lakes Park 

• Willowbrook Park 

Queens: 

• Juniper Valley Park 

• Roy Wilkins Park  

• Rockaway Beach (at Shore Front Pkwy and Beach 94th St) 

For more information, including the full list of Mulchfest drop-off and Saturday chipping sites, visit: www.nyc.gov/mulchfest.    

Mulchfest 2025 will run from December 26 through January 12. New Yorkers will be able to drop off holiday trees at one of 75 sites – including 35 chipping sites – across the five boroughs, including parks and Greenthumb gardens. The trees are then chipped and recycled, and the mulch is used to nourish city trees and plants in every corner of the city.  

ABOUT NYC PARKS MULCHFEST: 

Mulchfest, part of the New York City holiday tradition, encourages New Yorkers to make greening a family activity byturning holiday trees into mulch that can be used for gardening and to increase soil fertility. For more than 20 years, Parks has collected and mulched trees to help planting beds and community gardens around the city grow. Mulch maintains the health of our trees and plants citywide by deterring weeds, retaining moisture, preventing compaction, adding nutrients to the soil, and keeping roots warm. In recent years, Parks has mulched between 25,000 and 30,000 on average annually, with over 42,000 mulched during Mulchfest 2024.  

ABOUT CITI:   

Citi is a preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth management and a valued personal bank in its home market of the United States. Citi does business in more than 180 countries and jurisdictions, providing corporations, governments, investors, institutions and individuals with a broad range of financial products and services. 

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | X: @Citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi