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 theWall Street Journal's Greater New York section.[1] His work has also appeared inThe New York Times,New York,The New York Observer,The New Yorker, andThe Huffington Post.
Early in his career, Gardner worked forNBC News,Ed Koch's successful 1978 mayoral campaign, and served as the spokesperson for theNew York City Department of Correction.
Gardner is a journalist and humorist, and chronicles life in New York City. His early writing appeared in theSoHo Weekly News,Spy, andCosmopolitan.[2] In the 1990s, Gardner wrote forThe New York Observer, penning the Crime Blotter and contributing to the New Yorker's Diary.[3] As a freelance writer, Gardner has written feature stories forNew York (magazine)[4] (Married to the Market) andThe New York Times (The Farewell Tour).[5]
In 2009, Gardner covered theAnthony Dryden Marshall trial forThe Huffington Post[6] andThe Daily Beast.[7] Marshall was the son of socialite and philanthropistBrooke Astor. 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 includedconspiracy,grand larceny andpossession of stolen property.[8] On December 21, 2009, Marshall was sentenced to one to three years in prison.[9] He served eight weeks before being granted immediate parole due to failing health.
In 2010,The Wall Street Journal launched the Greater New York section.[10] Five days a week Gardner penned the "Urban Gardner" column, an account of the quotidian features of New York City fromMetroCard 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).[1] Gardner wrote over 1,000 "Urban Gardner" before the Greater New York section closed in 2016.[11]
In 2016, Gardner began a weekly radio commentary onWAMC Northeast Public Radio, aNational Public Radio affiliate.[12] Gardner has a residence inColumbia County, New York and his commentary focuses on topics relating to being a "weekender."
Born inNew York City, Gardner is the son of Natalie Gardner and Ralph Gardner (1923-2005), Horatio Alger biographer.[13] He has two brothers, James Gardner (1960), architectural critic,[14] and Peter Gardner (1958). Gardner attended theBrowning School andMiddlebury College. In 1986, Gardner married Deborah Downing. The couple has two daughters, Lucy and Gracie.[15] Gardner splits his time between New York City andColumbia County in upstate New York.
In 2015, Gardner was honored with Mychal Judge Heart of New York prize from theNew York Press Club.[16]In 2016, Gardner was honored with theBrowning School's Charles W. Cook Alumnus Achievement Award.[17]
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