NY Community Gardens Saved

Newsbriefs

A last-minute deal

saved over 100 community gardens in New York City from being auctioned off to developers in May. The City had been planning to sell the lots for development, claiming that they were unused and unwanted, in spite of the fact that some have been thriving gardens for decades. The deal involved sales of the lots to two groups: the Trust for Public Lands paid $3 million for 63 of the gardens, and an organization led by entertainer Bette Midler, the New York Restoration Project, paid $1.2 million for 50 more. While celebrating the achievement, Rose Harvey of the Trust for Public Lands noted that it would have been better if the City itself recognized the value of these gardens, and protected them without private intervention.