New York, NY Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)
Key Facts
- Manual revision deadline
- November 1, 2013
- Compliance start date
- May 1, 2014
- Invasive-species determination sources
- NYS DEC or the department itself
- Noxious-weed determination source
- NYS Dept. of Agriculture and Markets
- Native-species guide update cycle
- At least every 5 years
- Exemption
- Botanic gardens, collection/education plantings
Summary
NYC's parks department cannot plant a species that New York State has flagged as invasive or noxious. Administrative Code § 18-141 requires the department's design manual to favor native, drought- and salt-tolerant plants and to bar any species the state Department of Environmental Conservation or Department of Agriculture and Markets has listed as invasive or a noxious weed.
By November 1, 2013, the department shall revise its design manual to increase biodiversity in its landscape practices. Such practices shall maximize the use of native plantings and drought and salt tolerant plantings, as appropriate, and minimize the presence of exotic monocultures on all city-owned property, including green streets, medians, sidewalks, parks and other areas where plantings occur. Where native plant species are not appropriate, such practices shall require the use of any plant species that has not been determined to be an invasive plant species by the New York state department of environmental conservation or by the department, or determined to be a noxious weed by the New York state department of agriculture and markets. ... Botanic gardens and public institutions who possess plants for educational, scientific, historic or collection purposes and take precautions to prevent non-native species from going to seed or spreading beyond the existing planting shall be exempt from the requirements of this section.
Full Breakdown
" Where a native species will not work for a site, the manual can only authorize a plant that has not been determined to be an invasive plant species by the state DEC or the department itself, and that has not been determined a noxious weed by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, effectively importing the state's invasive and noxious-weed determinations into city planting practice. The statute defines "native species," for its purposes only, as a species that, other than through human introduction, historically occurred or currently occurs in a particular ecosystem.
The manual must include a native-species planting guide updated at least every five years and a list of native alternatives for commonly used non-native species, and it has to be posted on the department's website for use by property owners and professional land managers, not just city crews. All department plantings after May 1, 2014 must conform to the manual. From 2015 through 2019 the department was required to report annually to the mayor and city council on the number and location of native plantings and its progress diversifying species citywide.
Botanic gardens and public institutions holding plants for educational, scientific, historic or collection purposes are exempt if they take precautions to keep non-native specimens from going to seed or spreading beyond the planting.
Violations & Fines
Section 18-141 carries no fine or misdemeanor penalty of its own; it is a design-standard mandate on the department, not a prohibition enforced against private planters. The accountability mechanisms are procedural: the manual and any update must be posted online, all department plantings after May 1, 2014 had to conform to it, and the department had to file a public progress report with the mayor and council every year from 2015 to 2019 documenting native-species plantings citywide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does NYC ban homeowners from planting invasive species?
How does the city decide which plants count as invasive?
Is anyone exempt from the native-planting requirement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New York
New York rules heatmap·Compare New York to another location·View the New York invasive plant rules overview
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