NYC’s community gardens overcame obstacles, including Rudy Giuliani
This spirit of communal action animated many of the gardens that popped up in previously abandoned spaces across the city, beginning in the 1970s.
By Arun Venugopa
Gothamistl
Sep 7, 2023
Excerpt:
This tradition of collectivism goes back to at least the 1970s, when some New York City neighborhoods were pocked with vacant lots, typically the result of urban neglect. Enroute to becoming the green oases and urban jewels many are today, community gardens had to overcome significant political hurdles and existential threats, not the least being the vehement opposition from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Much of the history of the city’s community gardens has been archived by the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, a storefront institution located on Avenue C in the East Village.
Standing inside the museum, activist Bill di Paola pointed at a black and white photo on the wall where two children walked through an obliterated urban landscape. The photo, titled “Lot That Became El Jardin Del Paraiso,” was shot in the East Village in 1976 by Marlis Momber.
“And you can just see this desolate piece of land looks like a war zone,” said di Paola, the cofounder of the museum as well as the local environmental group Times Up!, which organized the Critical Mass bike rides in years past. “And now this is a beautiful community garden.”
