New York's community gardens creating tension once more
Community gardening is a well-known term and idea in New York City thanks to the much-publicized opposition between former Mayor Giuliani and members of the New York City public, who brought a lawsuit to have the gardens protected. The issue was eventually resolved when Mayor Bloomberg replaced Giuliani and introduced the Garden Settlement of 2002.
Community gardening is, essentially, a practice whereby local residents, of areas in which land belonging to the city has fallen into disrepair, come together to tend the land and turn it into a functioning public garden, park or small farm. It is based on a communal effort by members of a local community and it was this which advocates saw as being under threat from developers wanting to purchase the land from the city.
Under the agreement, 500 community gardens were preserved while many others would be used to build 2000 apartments, which reflected an increase in public housing production by almost a fifth.
“Our hope is that this satisfies everybody to the extent that they can be satisfied,” Bloomberg told New York City news media at the time and his comments were well-received by many of the garden advocates who’d sued the city. They acknowledge the deal was not perfect, but added, with witty catch-phrases that “perfect is the enemy of the possible”.
The legal battle revealed in stark contrast the competing desires facing residents of New York City: a longing for green open spaces and a long-running need for more low-income housing to alleviate over-crowding and inner-city decline. At times, the fight got nasty with Giuliani attempting to categorize the protestors as communist-inclined hippies, just as they hit back calling the city government oppressive and against nature.
Protestors descended on City Hall dressed as vegetables and the mayor vehemently insisted that what they were fighting for was an ideal world, which was unattainable.
“If you live in an unrealistic world then you can say everything should be a community garden,” Giuliani famously told New York City news media in 2000.
Bloomberg and attorney general Eliot Spitzer, who had brought his own lawsuit against the city, eventually resolved the melee and so ended the Garden Wars, but tensions are mounting again as the Garden Settlement of 2002 is about to expire.
When the settlement expires around 500 community gardens dotted around New York will lose their legal protection from property developers, who will then be able to bid on them at auction and purchase them for the development of more housing blocks.
Garden activists have begun warming up their war machines already, it was recently reported in New York City news media that a group of protestors delivered boxes of freshly harvested produce to the steps of City Hall in a move aimed at raising awareness of the potential and feasibility community gardens hold.
“We're here today because we love the community gardens, and we have a simple message for New York City: Protect and preserve the community gardens for our children and for our children’s children,” proclaimed Benjamin Shepard, who is a member of the activist group Time’s Up!, which seeks to have the Garden Settlement made permanent.
“A green New York City will reduce global warming, and will be a model global city. The simplest way to keep New York City green is to preserve the community gardens,” he added, to the cheers of his fellow activists. Time’s Up! is not alone in its call, Green Thumbs, Green Guerillas, the Trust of Public Land and number of other organisations are either campaigning to have the law extended or have made plans to protect as many gardens as possible through fund raising and purchase.
There are around 600 community gardens operating in New York, many of them are owned by the Parks Department and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, but many are unprotected, not owned by any trusts or organisations and shielded only by the law which will eventually expire.
Advocates argue that the benefits of community gardens are many; shared space, a recreational area for the community, a space in which to grow food locally and a center around which awareness and advocacy can grow, thereby reducing social and political apathy in society.
Opponents of community gardens point out that they can become the domain of a select few, a cliché, so to speak, of hardcore environmentalists and nature advocates and that the utilization of the land for community gardens makes little economic sense considering the benefits that development and construction would bring.
In an editorial in the New York Times, a New York City news provider, a columnist appealed to the emotive and symbolic significance of community gardens, “City planners understand that the future of cities depends on greening them. So do the gardeners, hard at work on their plots, and so do all the rest of us who stop to admire the softer, greener geometry of a midsummer garden in the midst of this hard-edged city”.
Comments
More New York City News
RSS-
Spanish art gets privileged space in New York museum
New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has reopened its European paintings galleries after a two-year renovation, giving a privileged space to Spanish masters Velazquez, El Greco and Goya. Prior to the overhaul, the Met's large collection of works by Velazquez, Goya, Ribera, Murillo and El Greco had been distributed in different galleries organized either by artistic movement or ...
-
Tyson Gay roars to 100m victory at New York Diamond League meet
United States Tyson Gay roared to a 100-metres victory while Sanya Richards-Ross withdrew and high jumper Blanka Vlasic made an emotional comeback triumph in Saturday's New York Diamond League athletics meet.Cold, windy and rainy conditions dimmed bids for spectacular performances at the third of 14 stops in the global series, making health issues a concern as athletes look to the world ...
-
Report Kelly Camp Denies Plans For Mayoral Bid Phone Poll Remains Shrouded In Mystery
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) — Is Police Commissioner Ray Kelly considering a bid for mayor? A recent telephone poll of registered voters asked New Yorkers if they would support the Commissioner for mayor. The poll also asked if they were aware of changes in crime statistics, but aides claim Kelly had nothing to do with the survey, which was first reported by the Village Voice and ...
-
Report Fatal Police Shooting Under Investigation In Connecticut
RIDGEFIELD, Conn. (AP) –Connecticut state police are investigating after Ridgefield police officers responding to an emergency report of a possible domestic dispute fatally shot a man armed with a handgun in the yard of a private home. Authorities say a Ridgefield police officer opened fire after the man refused to obey orders to put down his handgun and raised the weapon toward the ...
-
New York Rangers vs Boston Bruins Live Stream Free Watch Online Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5
New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) celebrates defeating the Washington Capitals with team mates Anton Stralman (6) and Derek Stepan (21) during Game 7 of their NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff hockey game in Washington May 13, 2013. New York Rangers vs Boston Bruins takes place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 5 on Saturday afternoon, with the Rangers knowing they are on ...
-
Collins looking to jump-start Mets offense
Email NEW YORK -- The Mets have had a few dead spots in their lineup this season, and manager Terry Collins is doing anything he can to fix them. New York has seen the ninth slot (.187) in the lineup account for a higher batting average than the fifth (.178) and the eighth slots (.179) this season. The Mets have also seen their cleanup hitter bat .194 (34-for-175) through the season's ...
-
Mets bullpen should be fine for Saturdays games
Email NEW YORK -- The Mets found themselves in the odd position of starting their closer on Saturday, but manager Terry Collins said his bullpen should be fine. New York and Atlanta began play on Saturday with the ninth inning of a 5-5 tie game that got suspended late Friday night. Bobby Parnell was be on the mound for the Mets, and Collins said that Brandon Lyon would also be available for the ...
-
Bayern Munich Wins Champions League Final Over Borussia Dortmund
FC Bayern Muenchen players celebrate after winning the UEFA Champions League Final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on May 25, 2013 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty ...
-
Boesch rejoins Yankees as Granderson hits DL
Email ST. PETERSBURG -- The Yankees officially placed Curtis Granderson on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday, recalling Brennan Boesch from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace him on the active roster. Granderson has played just eight games for the Yankees this season, and he will be sidelined for at least four weeks after suffering a fractured fifth metacarpal of his left hand when he ...
-
Yankees claim pitcher Huff off waivers from Tribe
Email ST. PETERSBURG -- The Yankees made a move to add to their pitching staff, claiming David Huff off waivers from the Indians on Saturday. Huff, 28, made three relief appearances for Cleveland this season, allowing five earned runs in three innings. He opened the year at Triple-A Columbus, where he was 3-1 with a 4.07 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings pitched over nine games (two ...
-
Gay wins 100 at Adidas Grand Prix in New York
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tyson Gay accomplished all his goals at the Adidas Grand Prix: He won, put his body through the grind of rounds - and stayed ...
-
Bynes Drug Charges Are ‘Lies’ Cop ‘Sexually Harassed Me’
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Amanda Bynes on Saturday released a statement via Twitter, claiming a police officer sexually harassed her and touched her inappropriately the night before her arrest, and that the charges that she threw a bong out a window were "lies." Bynes, 27, was arrested Thursday night and was charged with possession of marijuana, reckless endangerment and tampering ...
-
2 Arrested In Bedford-Stuyvesant Gun Drug Bust
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police this week arrested two Brooklyn men after finding firearms and stashes of heroin and crack cocaine in their Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment. The Brooklyn North Gang Unit for some time had been investigating drug dealing that had been going on within the first floor of 250 Clifton Pl. in Brooklyn, the NYPD ...
-
Report Man Charged With Slamming Into Officer On Long Island
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A police officer in Nassau County was struck and wounded by a man fleeing a traffic stop Friday night, according to a published report. Robert Robinson, 26, of the Long Island town of Inwood, was pulled over for talking on his cell phone as he headed west on Jerusalem Avenue in Uniondale, Newsday reported. Upon pulling Robinson over, police saw a clear ...
-
Turkish parade in New York is a show of power Turkish Minister
Turkey's EU Minister Egemen Bagis said Turkish parade was a cultural show of power NEW YORK - Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said, " Turkish Day Parade is a signal of Turkey's power, a cultural show of power." Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA) organized the 32thTurkish Day Parade in New York.Addressing the crowd after the parade, ...
-
Mets To Resume Suspended Game At 610 p.m. Followed By Regularly Scheduled Game
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York Mets have never had a suspended game. Still, manager Terry Collins is certain about how he’s going handle his pitchers for the completion. He’s going to use a reliever when play ...
-
New York Aquarium Reopens After Sandy Damage
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The damp, raw weather may have canceled a day at the beach for Tri-State Area residents, but it did not stop many young visitors and their families from heading to the New York Aquarium at Coney Island. As WCBS 880's Monica Miller reported, crowds were enjoying the views underwater. ';We’re looking at different types of anemone and different types ...
-
Todays MLB starting lineups May 25
Below are starting lineups that have been made public by the clubs. A lineup is not official until it is handed to the umpire. Additional lineups will be added as they become available: Baltimore Orioles: 1. ...
-
Hot Dog Hooker ‘They Keep Framing Me’
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — The woman known as the "Hot Dog Hooker" pleaded not guilty to new charges in court Saturday, and accused authorities of framing her. Cathy Scalia, 47, was arrested Friday after she allegedly performed a massage, without a license, on an undercover detective at a hotel in Garden City, Long Island, according to Nassau County police. She is also ...
-
Bad Luck Continues For Granderson Yankees Place Outfielder On Disabled List
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York Yankees have placed outfielder Curtis Granderson on the 15-day disabled list due to a broken knuckle on his left pinky finger and recalled outfielder Brennan Boesch from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The moves were made ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay ...
-
Monzo Previews Memorial Day Weekend Racing At Belmont And Monmouth Park
More Columns With Memorial Day Weekend here, the racing gets better throughout the Tri-State area. Belmont Park has features on Sunday and Monday. Monmouth Park is filled with some solid races, as well. Monmouth also is having a Food Truck ...
-
Another Newark Archdiocese Official Resigns Over Pedophile Priest Case
You are using Internet Explorer 6. Internet Explorer 6 is unsupported by this site and you may experience layout and functionality issues. It is recommended that you upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer or switch to another browser. ...
New York Cityscape
-
New York's community gardens creating tension once more
Community gardening in New York is under threat again, but what are the ideas and opinions surrounding this ongoing battle between the people and the city?
Community gardening is a well-known term and idea in New York City thanks to the much-publicized opposition between former Mayor Giuliani and members of the New York City public, who brought a lawsuit to have the gardens protected. The issue was eventually resolved when Mayor Bloomberg replaced Giuliani and introduced the Garden Settlement of 2002. Read more
News from around our Network
