Hidden Gems - Community Gardens

There are many people that think of NYC as a ‘concrete jungle.’ 

Well, that is until people visit Central Park, particular north of the Bethesda Terrace which feels very Victorian in design to me. Central Park is a project won by Culvert Vaux & Frederick Olmsted in the 1850s. It is considered The City’s backyard. 

Bethesda Terrace, Central Park 

Once you get into the area known as The Ramble, you get a feeling of being in the woods, maybe not the woods but an idea of the natural terrain of the island before it had all of the tall buildings; one of the concepts of the design of the park. 

Fast forward to the plight of the 1970s. New York City was in decline. There were burned out buildings. My neighborhood, became in large part a ‘squatters village and tent city.’ Particularly in and around Tompkins Square Park, in Alphabet City.  

Out of this comes a movement of community gardens within empty, abandoned lots peppered throughout neighborhoods like the East Village. 

These community gardens were for many individuals a places to plant flowers, or small box gardens, goldfish ponds, sculptures and a variety of trees to relieve the stress of the hard times.

Once The City began to rebound, developers became interested and these small community areas became territorial battlegrounds. 

Liz Christy, a leader of this grassroots (pun not intended) movement to solve some of the issues of urban decay. Banded together with a group that became known as the Green Guerillas: To get people working together to stabilize their city blocks. 

Today, these are little hidden gems in neighborhoods around The City that provide respite from the busy streets, a place of solitude, and meditation - supplies a place for creativity. 

Left photo, Miracle Community Garden, Top, Garden on Bleeker St., Bottom, Marble Cemetery

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