Roger That community garden in Crown Heights, Brooklyn // Credit: Nicole Craine for The New York Times
A call for a Green Revolution: “1 new Community Garden for every 200 units of Housing*." More Gardens & Homes!
New York City needs Justice and Wellness. It is time to grow community gardens as an integral part of affordable housing.
“The sense among many gardeners is that “at any moment, anything could happen,” said Aresh Javadi, executive director of More Gardens, an advocacy group for community gardens, and a member of the board of the New York City Community Garden Coalition.
Mr. Javadi said he believed that gardens must be fought for, whether it is a private developer or the city that wants the land.
According to Mr. Javadi, many people simply accept that the city can take the space away. “That to me is a fallacy,” he said, “because we, the people who are growing the gardens, are the city.””
*Our representatives are planning to create 200,000 units of affordable housing in the next ten years.