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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

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

'', ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', and ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''.

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 Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was may ...

'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 Islan ...

. 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'' (also called the ''SoHo News'') was a weekly alternative newspaper published in New York City from 1973 to 1982. The paper was founded in 1973 by Michael Goldstein (1938–2018). History The first issue was published on ...

'', ''

Spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

'', and ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

''. 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, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

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

. In 2009, Gardner covered the

Anthony Dryden Marshall Anthony Dryden Marshall (born Anthony Dryden Kuser; May 30, 1924 – November 30, 2014) was an American theatrical producer and C.I.A. intelligence officer and ambassador. Marshall died on November 30, 2014, at the age of 90. Early life and fam ...

trial for ''

'' and ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

''. 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 who was the chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation, established by her third husband, Vincent Astor, son of John Ja ...

. 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, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

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 Engla ...

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'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' 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 The MetroCard is a magnetic stripe card used for fare payment on transportation in the New York City area. It is the primary payment method for the New York City Subway (including the Staten Island Railway), New York City Transit buses and MTA ...

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, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

affiliate. Gardner has a residence in

Columbia County, New York Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,570. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the ...

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 or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, 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 an independent school for boys in New York City. It was founded in 1888 by John A. Browning. It offers instruction in grades kindergarten through 12th grade. The school is a member of the New York Interschool consortium. ...

and

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

. 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 private nonprofit membership organization which promotes journalism in the New York City metropolitan area. It is unaffiliated with any government organization and abstains from politics. While the c ...

. 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