In 1977, when a group of 48th Street
residents noticed tomato plants growing out of the debris from the empty
lot that had laid vacant and abandoned for over 28 years, the idea of a
real garden began to germinate. With additional encouragement from city
sanitation workers, in 1978 the Clinton Community Garden was born. The
picture to the right shows the vacant lot with abandoned cars before the
garden existed.
The city-owned property was leased through Operation GreenThumb in 1979
and was organized into 2 sections, a public Front Garden with lawn and
flower beds and a Rear Garden for individual flower and vegetable plots.
Initially, twenty 5' x 8' individual garden plots were laid out in the
rear west corner of the 100' x 150' vacant lot. Meanwhile, paths were
created in the Public Front Garden and Rear West Garden from the bricks
that had been carefully retrieved from the rubble. Fences were erected to
protect the garden and to separate the individual rear plot section from
the public front area. The Rear West Garden was expanded in 1980 and a
Rear Center Garden was established. Two years later the Rear East Garden
was marked off which expanded gardening opportunities to the current total
of 108 plots.
In 1981 the city announced its intention to auction
the property, but the community unified to halt the sale. Trust for Public
Land, Housing Conservation Coordinators and the Green Guerrillas joined in
the fight and the gardeners started the Square Inch Campaign, "selling" a
piece of the garden for a $5.00 donation. The story attracted national
attention as well as the support of Mayor Edward I. Koch who kicked off
the campaign in April of 1984 by buying the first square inch. The public
auction was postponed until December of that year. The Inch Worm Mural,
painted by Mallory Abramson, one of the founders of the garden, still
remains on the east wall. It marks the progress of the Square Inch
Campaign. The picture to the left shows Marilyn working in her plot with
the inch worm on the wall above.
On November 16, 1984, just one month before the scheduled
auction, Mayor Ed Koch transferred the garden land from the Housing
Department to NYC's Park & Recreation. Although square inch sales
raised over $70,000, it was seed money from the Clinton Fund that secured
the deal making Clinton Community Garden the first community garden in
New York City to be transferred to permanent parkland status! In 1986
the land was formally licensed by Parks to the non-profit Clinton
Community Garden, Inc. The Vincent Astor Foundation, Operation GreenThumb,
Greenacre Foundation, City Parks Foundation, Ninth Avenue Association,
Community Board No. 4 and the West 47th and 48th Street Block Associations
have all been helpful to the growth of our garden.
The picture to the right shows the
garden around 1984 just after the transfer. Note the geodesic dome on the
far right where the grape arbor now stands. There are no paid positions;
all work is done by volunteers. These volunteers care for flower beds,
shrubbery, trees, lawn, paths, the herb garden, the rock garden, the
beehive, the rose bed, the grape arbor and the Native American medicinal
plants bed. The Clinton Community Garden Inc. is managed by a Steering
Committee whose members volunteer to serve either a one or two-year term.
Elections are held at a General Membership meeting traditionally on the
first Tuesday of each March. The Steering Committee meets the first
Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Fountain House, West 47th
Street.
We are especially proud of our Native American Bed (left
picture). The west wall of the Garden shadows more than a hundred species
of plants indigenous to this area of North America. Each of these
plants has been marked with a sign showing both its Latin and common name.
This was done with generous support from the Greenacre Foundation. We also
pride ourselves on keeping a nice lawn that separates the individual
flower beds. We are one of the few community gardens which has a public
lawn that is open to all seven days a week from dawn until dusk. The Front Public Garden is composed of 17
volunteer flower beds that are maintained by approximately 30 gardeners.
Garden events have included pot luck
suppers, picnics with string quartets, gardening seminars, herbal
workshops, harvest parties, art festivals and many weddings and birthday
parties. Clinton Community Garden is proud to annually co-host the
city-wide Summer Solstice Community Gardening Celebration in June with
GreenThumb/NYC Parks & Recreation. Neighborhood public schools,
including young art students from P.S. 51, many tour groups and
horticultural organizations also enjoy spending recreational and learning
time in our garden.
The Clinton Community Garden is a green sanctuary - it is not a
playground. A beautiful and quiet place has been created to be enjoyed by
all.
Our catchment area is 34th Street to 59th Street from 8th Avenue to the
Hudson River. To obtain a key to the Front Garden you must live or work
within our catchment area. See Rules and Regulations - Front Garden Keyholders. To be placed on
our Wait List for a Rear Garden plot you must live within our catchment
area. See Rules and Regulations - Rear Garden Plot Assignment Procedures. To
make a donation please send your tax deductible check to: Clinton
Community Garden, P.O. Box 214, New York, NY 10108-0214.
The Clinton Community Garden is actively acquiring materials for its
archive. We are interested in photographs, videos, or any documentation
that you may have. We ask you to either donate or loan the material to us
so that we may copy it.
In 1977, when a group of 48th Street
residents noticed tomato plants growing out of the debris from the empty
lot that had laid vacant and abandoned for over 28 years, the idea of a
real garden began to germinate. With additional encouragement from city
sanitation workers, in 1978 the Clinton Community Garden was born. The
picture to the right shows the vacant lot with abandoned cars before the
garden existed.
In 1981 the city announced its intention to auction
the property, but the community unified to halt the sale. Trust for Public
Land, Housing Conservation Coordinators and the Green Guerrillas joined in
the fight and the gardeners started the Square Inch Campaign, "selling" a
piece of the garden for a $5.00 donation. The story attracted national
attention as well as the support of Mayor Edward I. Koch who kicked off
the campaign in April of 1984 by buying the first square inch. The public
auction was postponed until December of that year. The Inch Worm Mural,
painted by Mallory Abramson, one of the founders of the garden, still
remains on the east wall. It marks the progress of the Square Inch
Campaign. The picture to the left shows Marilyn working in her plot with
the inch worm on the wall above.
The picture to the right shows the
garden around 1984 just after the transfer. Note the geodesic dome on the
far right where the grape arbor now stands. There are no paid positions;
all work is done by volunteers. These volunteers care for flower beds,
shrubbery, trees, lawn, paths, the herb garden, the rock garden, the
beehive, the rose bed, the grape arbor and the Native American medicinal
plants bed. The Clinton Community Garden Inc. is managed by a Steering
Committee whose members volunteer to serve either a one or two-year term.
Elections are held at a General Membership meeting traditionally on the
first Tuesday of each March. The Steering Committee meets the first
Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Fountain House, West 47th
Street.
We are especially proud of our Native American Bed (left
picture). The west wall of the Garden shadows more than a hundred species
of plants indigenous to this area of North America. Each of these
plants has been marked with a sign showing both its Latin and common name.
This was done with generous support from the Greenacre Foundation. We also
pride ourselves on keeping a nice lawn that separates the individual
flower beds. We are one of the few community gardens which has a public
lawn that is open to all seven days a week from dawn until dusk. The