Poughkeepsie’s ‘Prince of Pershing’ uses park to teach urban farming
Marc Ferris / Special to the Times Union
“Farmer Nick” Jackson has found his new calling
By Marc Ferris
Times-Union
June 6, 2023
Excerpt:
Behind the park’s new basketball courts and playground equipment, where a small forest once stood, Swiss chard, burdock root, collard greens and corn stalks are sprouting. In addition to minding 22 growing beds for locals, allotted by lottery, Jackson and his helpers cultivate the garden, giving all the produce away to neighborhood residents. He even delivers.
“If someone comes by and they’re not from around here, I have them pitch in first,” he said. “There’s always something to do.”
As a kid, Jackson passed the park on his route to school. Today, the 29-year-old looks at the park as an educational opportunity.
“It’s one thing for me to do all the work, but it’s more important to teach people how to do it themselves, either here or at home,” said Jackson, who commutes by skateboard.
The garden stems from an initiative introduced by former Mayor Rob Rolison, now a state senator, to upgrade parks in Poughkeepsie’s long-neglected North Side. The city began partnering with several nonprofits in the late 2010s to carry out this vision. Another North Side park — Malcolm X Park, located a few blocks from Pershing Avenue — officially reopened on June 8 with a pavilion, a modest playground and new basketball courts. Volunteers from Beulah Baptist Church next door will maintain five large beds filled with flowers planted by the city.
