i·de·a
/īˈdēə/
Noun
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So, a few of us gathered together in a living room in December to talk about building a community garden.
There were about 15 of us with varying skills sets excited about this idea. We all met each other through activism and realized one large part of our society falling down was lack of community space to just relax where you didn't have to pay for a double-choco-caramel-latte-swirly-thing disguised as "coffee", lack of control of our food sources, a place to learn and grow that brought people together who may or may not know each other in order to learn and grow as a whole human being, having a space to BUILD something from the ground up so we can recognize our own human spiritual power.
We got to work and made a list of things to get accomplished. Nicole, who sparked this idea to the group had a vacant lot in mind at 1521 Broadway. A beautiful .05 acre triangle grassy area. We connected with 596 acres, a brilliant group of folk who are land-access-facilitators for community farms. They made it understandable for the public to know that land is available and gardens make the world a better place!
Our first outreach step was to contact the Department of Housing and Preservation Development to see if there were plans for this plot. They were years off from development, and recommended that we call GreenThumb to secure the steps to getting a GreenThumb licence.
Our steps were to gather a list of committed members and community supporters, create a drawing of the garden, and approach our Community Board for a letter of approval to submit to Green Thumb to get a license to begin cleaning up the lot and start the building of beds and spaces...
We were right on target! Enthusiasm abound! We had ideas of grandeur, vertical beds, flat beds, compost stations, greenhouse, grassy knoll for leisure, film nights, music nights...
Next stop! Community Board Meeting! Of course they would love this! Who would love a group of enthusiastic activists with years of community commitment under our belts to create a safe and growing space in our neighborhood? We went with our lists and drawing in tow.
Full stop. Wrong meeting. We had to return to a sub-meeting of the Arts, Parks and Culture Committee in two days. Okay, chins up! We are learning as we go! See you Wednesday, sub-committee!
We arrive Wednesday night to the Arts, Parks and Culture meeting and it didn't go as smooth as we predicted. They were under the assumption that we were not from the neighborhood because most of us lived on the East side of Broadway, which was out of the jurisdiction of Bedford Stuyvesant. So, they recommended chatting with the immediate neighbors for a temperature check on building a community garden. They mentioned a list of potential problems that could arise if they just sign on in support immediately.
So here we are... The Plot thickens..... to be continued! Please follow us to see how this stary of community gardening unfolds.
