In Land We Trust

by Mary Jasch

The Trust for Public Land bought 63 community gardens in Manhattan in 1999, just one day before Mayor Guilliani was to auction them off for development. To the relief of green space-deprived New Yorkers, this national, non-profit, open space-saver stepped right up with the cash.

They (TPL) bought with plans to create an urban park system and to enrich neighborhoods, starting with the preservation of these gardens. Many are in under-served areas where no parks exist.

"New Yorkers suffer from an acute lack of open space," says Susan Clark, TPL's public affairs director. "The national expectation is 2.5 acres per thousand residents. There are some communities with less than half an acre for every thousand people."

Community gardens serve as neighborhood parks, playgrounds and places to grow things. "Many neighborhoods where we own gardens are predominantly low-income neighborhoods of color. The gardens are places to bring families and children, and where neighbors get together to socialize," says Paul Coppa, director of TPL's Garden Land Trust Program.

One garden saved by TPL is the Five-Star Garden on W. 121st Street in Harlem, managed by Classie Parker. She, with nine other adults and children, founded the garden in 1990.

"I had the idea when my mother was diabetic and sick and Dad was due to retire. I figured while I was taking care of Mom, if Dad did retire he'd have some place to go where he wasn't run over by a bicycle or confronted with drugs," she says.

The ten gardeners rented the lot from the city for $1.00 a year. "We started two gardens, one on the right side of the street and one on the left. In '99, the city took the one on the right and there are $450,000 townhouses there. They started selling lots off. They took four gardens here in my area. I had the other garden before the bulldozers. I had a ten-year lease. I lost one and kept one."

That was a year of turmoil and loss - 113 community gardens, or "vacant lots" as the city called them, were put on the block and bought by both TPL and the New York Restoration Project.

A lawsuit brought against the city by the attorney general resulted in a settlement that allowed development of certain gardens and protection of others following a new review process.

The 1,400 square foot organic Five Star Garden is multi-cultural and intergenerational, plus inspirational, recreational and therapeutic. "People just want to come and talk and do every little thing," says Parker. "Once you open the garden, you don't have to do anything - they just come and talk."

Soon the Five Star will have a new owner - the Manhattan Land Trust, one of three Urban Land Trusts created by TPL to take ownership of the gardens by early 2004. The other two are in the Bronx and Brooklyn/Queens.

"We are interim stewards of property," explains Coppa. "As current owner, we have the responsibility of maintenance and governance of them as community open spaces with a considerable amount of access to the public. So we're holding on for the moment until the land trusts become on their feet. Then we will transfer both ownership and governance responsibilities to each land trust. Because of the nature of the organization and philosophy of community gardens, it's far better for their long term survival to be owned by local people."

Land acquired by TPL is traditionally put in the public trust. "We're not interested in being long-term landowners," says Clark. "Most often TPL is the new owner of other's land, then the land gets sold to other agencies. In setting up Urban Land Trusts, the gardeners will be in charge of the Trusts - a new experience for them."

TPL provides training and mentoring so the gardeners can learn to govern the trusts, get to know each other as colleagues, and be stewards of public open spaces. TPL will provide each trust with start-up funds for two years to hire staff for fundraising, administration and property management - issues they now have to deal with.

The goal of turning gardens into long-lasting valuable neighborhood resources is accomplished through its Garden Stewardship Program. TPL and gardeners establish relationships with community organizations for maximum use of the gardens, manage the property, make capital enhancements that run about $100,000 per garden, and get grants for community programs.

The Five Star Garden's upgrade includes a gazebo, tool shed, raised beds and an indoor watering system. "It was hydrants before. Now we don't have to do that, " says Parker.

Gardens enhance civic pride, Coppa says. "They really help people take ownership and an interest in their own community. If they are able to be responsible for the governance of a garden, there is greater involvement in taking pride in a neighborhood. This plays a very positive role in contributing to pride in a community."

The Five Star with its ginger, curry and chocolate peppermint is getting a reputation. Parker and the Five Star have been interviewed by a German scholar, filmed for Channel 13 on home canning, and won an E-Town award from a radio station.

You wouldn't believe how many lives we've affected through the years here," says Parker. "One couple reunited in the garden. We grow herbs that help seniors with arthritis; we rub their hands and exercise. Three classes of pre-kindergarten came and drew plants on a mural featured in school for nine months. They didn't know where apples grew or where corn came from, so we got involved with an educational program called 'Cook Shop.' They bring children out to the garden and they get a chance to write about an urban farmer, of which I am one. I work with the special education kids at PS76. They calmed down when they came here.

"We've had a lot of effect on a lot of different people and it's just awesome. Some days I don't know what's going to happen or what it's going to bring. The garden draws a lot of different people. It's awesome."

As a Manhattan Land Trust member, Parker is helping other gardeners to save their sites from demolition. She's wishing for a camera to document the Trust gardens.

For 25 years TPL has worked with over 250 community gardens in New York, and service 145 now. Most are registered with the city's GreenThumb program. The Trust also works with the Council on the Environment, the Green Guerrillas and NYRP. Trust for Public Lands: www.tpl.org

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published September 30, 2003