NYCCGC Town Hall Meeting

Saturday, October 2, 2010

12:00pm - 4:00pm

The New School - Wollman Hall

 66 West 12th Street,  5th Floor

NYCCGC hosts a Town Hall-style session with advocates, allies, and community gardeners

to assess the current state of New York's community gardens, and what the recently published

Parks rules mean to the future of community gardening. For more information read below, see our website,

or find us on Facebook.

- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

On October 2, 2010, the New York City Community Garden Coalition (NYCCGC) will convene a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the recently published "new rules" for community gardens on City land set to go into effect on October 13, 2010, as well as look to alternative legal strategies for long-term preservation.

While media reports have characterized the Coalition's opinion of the rules as favorable, NYCCGC has officially held comment, and has been meeting with Coalition members, conferring with other greening groups, and consulting with legal experts to fully assess the scope and impact of the recently updated rules. 

"We held comment on the new rules for a reason," says NYCCGC President Karen Washington. "The far-reaching impact of these rules is not something to be taken lightly, and needs to be analyzed thoroughly. While we appreciate that steps in the right direction have been made, there are still some serious concerns that need to be addressed before we claim total victory for the City's community gardeners."

While NYCCGC had originally been involved with the drafting of the new rules, negotiations eventually broke off, leaving the Coalition and its allies frustrated. On the morning of August 10, NYCCGC rallied supporters, helping fill Parks’ public hearing regarding the rules to overflow capacity. Over 300 garden devotees shared their passion as well as their consternation at the then-proposed rules, ultimately having a positive impact on the recently published rules.

One revelation that came to light at the hearing is that in many minds, including that of Christopher Amato, who served as lead attorney in the NY State Attorney General’s landmark lawsuit against the City, is that the gardens were and still are protected by the 2002 “Community Gardens Agreement,” which he also helped author.

12:00pm - 2:00pm: The first half of the Town Hall meeting will include an introduction to the current state of community garden affairs, followed by analysis of the new rules governing community gardens on city-owned land by several experts in the field of environmental justice.

2:00pm - 4:00pm: The second half of the event will be devoted to looking above and beyond the new rules: the pervasive sentiment, shared by supporters including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Parks and Recreation Committee Chair Melissa Mark-Viverito, and Christina Grace of the NYS Office of Community Gardens, is that true permanency for the gardens lies in legislation. Several legal strategies will be discussed; the Coalition is urging all elected local and state representatives with an interest in this important environmental justice issue to attend.

Both sessions will conclude with comments from invited greening groups, and an open question & answer period.