Ralph Gardner Jr. (born June 16, 1953) is an American writer, author, and radio commentator. From 2010 to 2016, his daily column, the "Urban Gardner" appeared in the '' Wall Street Journal's'' Greater New York section. His work has also appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'', ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', and ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

''.

Career

Early in his career, Gardner worked for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...

's successful 1978 mayoral campaign, and served as the spokesperson for the

New York City Department of Correction The New York City Department of Correction (NYCDOC) is the branch of the municipal government of New York City responsible for the custody, control, and care of New York City's imprisoned population, housing the majority of them on Rikers Island ...

. Gardner is a journalist and humorist, and chronicles life in New York City. His early writing appeared in the ''

SoHo Weekly News The ''SoHo Weekly News'' (SWN) was a weekly alternative newspaper founded by music publicist Michael Goldstein and published in New York City from 1973 to 1982. Positioned as a competitor to ''The Village Voice'', it struggled financially. T ...

'', '' Spy'', and ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

''. In the 1990s, Gardner wrote for ''

'', penning the Crime Blotter and contributing to the New Yorker's Diary. As a freelance writer, Gardner has written feature stories for ''

New York (magazine) ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' and ...

''
Married to the Market
and ''The New York Times''

. In 2009, Gardner covered the

Anthony Dryden Marshall Anthony Dryden Marshall (né Kuser; May 30, 1924 – November 30, 2014) was an American theatrical producer and C.I.A. intelligence officer and ambassador. After being convicted of financially exploiting his mother Brooke Astor, Marshall was se ...

trial for ''

'' and ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

''. Marshall was the son of socialite and philanthropist

Brooke Astor Roberta Brooke Astor (née Russell; March 30, 1902 – August 13, 2007) was an American philanthropist, socialite, and writer. She served as the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, who wa ...

. The lengthy and highly publicized trial saw Marshall indicted on sixteen charges relating to the handling of his mother's will and financial affairs. The charges included

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

grand larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

and possession of stolen property. On December 21, 2009, Marshall was sentenced to one to three years in prison. He served eight weeks before being granted immediate parole due to failing health. In 2010, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' launched the Greater New York section. Five days a week Gardner penned the
Urban Gardner
column, an account of the quotidian features of New York City from

MetroCard metroCARD is a contactless smartcard ticketing system for public transport services in the city (and surrounding suburbs) of Adelaide, South Australia. The system is managed by Adelaide Metro and is usable on their bus, train and tram services ...

machines
Swipe It, Swipe It Good
to beloved local citizens
A Jewel of a Proprietor
and the city's skyscrapers
Topping Expectations at the Empire State Building
. Gardner wrote over 1,000 "Urban Gardner" before the Greater New York section closed in 2016. In 2016, Gardner began a weekly radio commentary on WAMC Northeast Public Radio, a

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

affiliate. Gardner has a residence in

Columbia County, New York Columbia County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 61,570. The county seat is Hudson, New York, Hudson. The name comes from th ...

and his commentary focuses on topics relating to being a "weekender."

Personal life

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Gardner is the son of Natalie Gardner and Ralph Gardner (1923-2005), Horatio Alger biographer. He has two brothers, James Gardner (1960), architectural critic, and Peter Gardner (1958). Gardner attended the

Browning School The Browning School is a college preparatory school for boys located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Founded in 1888 by John A. Browning, the school is a member of the New York Interschool. History The school was founded in 1888 by John A ...

and

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

. In 1986, Gardner married Deborah Downing. The couple has two daughters, Lucy and Gracie. Gardner splits his time between New York City and Columbia County in upstate New York.

Awards

In 2015, Gardner was honored with Mychal Judge Heart of New York prize from the

New York Press Club The New York Press Club, sometimes ''NYPC'', is a nonprofit membership organization that promotes journalism in the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. It is unaffiliated with any government organization and abstains from ...

. In 2016, Gardner was honored with the

's Charles W. Cook Alumnus Achievement Award.

Bibliography

* ''Young, Gifted, and Rich'' (1984) * ''Hay Fever'' (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Ralph 1953 births Living people Middlebury College alumni American columnists American male journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers Writers from New York City 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers Browning School alumni 21st-century American male writers SoHo Weekly News people