Nearly a dozen of Brooklyn’s community gardens were renovated and expanded this year: Parks • Brooklyn Paper – Brooklyn Paper
Eleven of Brooklyn’s lush community gardens were renovated and expanded this year, the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation announced last week, receiving new supplies, tools, and more in an effort to make the gardens more accessible and productive for the communities they serve.
The borough is home to more than 200 such community gardens — in the warmer months, they overflow with flowers and veggies grown by local stewards. In nabes where most people don’t have their own private outdoor space, those gardens give residents easy access to green space, freshly-grown produce, and opportunities to learn about how to grow and maintain a garden in an urban environment.
The department installed 14 new double-raised garden beds, a gazebo, and a casita at the Seasons of Vision Community Garden this year. Photo courtesy NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
Since the 1970s, the Parks Department has managed those gardens via its GreenThumb program — providing funding and support for supplies and programming, plus manpower where it’s needed.
“GreenThumb community gardens are essential to New York City, and we are so proud of the work our team has put in this past year to enhance the efforts of our dedicated gardeners,” said Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue in a statement. “Dotting our cityscape, these urban oases provide expanded avenues to access greenspace for New Yorkers, central to our mission at Parks.”
In 2022, GreenThumb renovated gardens at three New York City Housing Authority complexes, including the Love Garden at Sumner Houses and the Farragut Houses Garden, according to the Parks Department. The improvements were largely focused on making the gardens more accessible and increasing food production — across the 11 gardens that were fixed up in Brooklyn, GreenThumb installed 200 double-raised garden beds and built 3,5000 square feet of new pathways and gazebos built to ADA standards. New structures like gazebos and arbors lend a little shade and beauty to the gardens, and brand-new sheds and other storage structures will make the spaces a little neater and more secure.
The department helped to renovate hundreds of community gardens citywide — and handed out equipment like shovels, soil, and seed packets. Photo courtesy NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
The renovations significantly increased the growing power at some of Brooklyn’s community gardens — The Sterling Community Garden in Brownsville was previously working with just eight raised beds, a shed, and some garden benches. This year, Parks installed 20 additional beds, a brand-new toolshed, and a new stretch of ADA-accessible path. The garden at Farragut Houses got 38 new raised beds, a gazebo, and a toolshed.
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