Gramercy Park Opens To Public Christmas Eve For Single Hour

NEW YORK CITY — You've got 60 minutes to be merry and bright, then get out. The exclusive and locked Gramercy Park will open its gates for as single hour of caroling on Christmas Eve, according to reports and the community newsletter.

Manhattan's lone private park — bordered by East 20th and 21st streets on Irving and Lexington avenues — will host caroling from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Dec. 24, the Gramercy Park Block Association newsletter shows.

For the remaining 8,759 hours of the year, Gramercy Park belongs exclusively to the privileged owners of 400 keys, granted only to those who live on the square's 39 buildings.

An annual fee, reported to be $7,500 in 2012, grants residents two keys and five guests, the New York Times reported.

This privacy policy — initiated by founder Samuel B. Ruggles in 1831 — may have cost the city $13 million in lost property taxes since 2009, according to a 2018 analysis.

Rev. Tom Pike and GPBA president Arlene Harrison will lead the carolers, who are asked to bring flashlights. The blog 6sqft was first to report the event.