Daniel Greer did a ground-breaking thing when he was the First Deputy Commissioner of Ports and Terminals in New York City in the late 1960s and early 1970s. With the shipping industry changing throughout the country at the time creating many unused shipping terminals and ports throughout the city, especially in Manhattan, where there has long been notoriously little space amongst the hustle and bustle of the city. Greer did a marvelous thing to solve this problem. He started a project to turn Pier Eighteen in Manhattan’s the Village into a public park. He chose this spot because of the lack of space in the area and because it was a large port that didn’t have any purpose anymore.



Today, Pier Eighteen has a public park with fresh grass and plenty of space, and a skate park for skating enthusiasts. Daniel Greer didn’t only repurpose this wasted space, he helped start a movement in many cities that have done the same thing with their wasted spaces. Today, Greer works as a rabbi in New Haven, Connecticut, where he has partnered with nonprofit organizations to repair and restore over fifty houses, and plant over four hundred trees in the Edgewood Park area. These improvements benefit not only his Yeshiva, but also the entire community.



Daniel Greer is known for his love of trees and other plants for all to enjoy in New Haven. He personally helped plant hundreds of trees throughout the town. When one of the dry spells that happen frequently throughout the area threatened the trees, Greer packed up a large container in his van and drove around the town watering the trees himself. He continues to do this whenever the young trees he has helped plan around town are struggling. He makes sure that all of the natural areas he and volunteers from the city and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies have planted throughout the city of New Haven.



Daniel Greer has long provided his community with practical assistance typical of dedicated rabbis and other dedicated religious leaders. As with all leaders, and especially religious leaders, the best guidance is that of personal example. Watching Daniel Greer water trees, restore houses, pick-up sidewalk trash, the congregants understand their communal responsibilities. Greer, who attended law school in New Haven, Yale Law Class of ’64, made a commitment early in his career to improve the viability of the Edgewood neighborhood. He is willing to do what it takes to make his corner of New Haven a great place to live for everyone.