Rear Garden Plot Assignment Procedures

There are 108 garden plots in the rear of the garden. These individual gardens are assigned to members of the community on a first come, first serve basis. It is important to keep in mind that no one “owns” a plot. Maintaining a plot in this community garden is an opportunity to garden a small parcel of New York City property. This opportunity to garden is administered and controlled by Clinton Community Garden, Inc. through an agreement with the New York City Parks Department.

To Obtain a Rear Garden Plot

You must live within our catchment area of 34th Street to 59th Street and 8th Avenue to the Hudson River. Send a postcard with your name, address, email and phone number clearly printed to: Clinton Community Garden, PO Box 214, New York, NY 10108. Since there is a limited number of plots, all requests that cannot be honored immediately will be added to a Wait List that is posted in the Garden website. The Wait List is continually monitored and plots are assigned from the Wait List as they become available during the year. The Steering Committee follows the procedures given below to assign available plots. All gardeners are required to follow all Clinton Community Garden rules as listed in the Front Garden Key Agreement, which every gardener signs when they receive a key for the front gate of the garden, as well as the rules in the Back Garden Plotholder AgreementAll gardeners are required to follow all Clinton Community Garden rules as listed in the Front Key Agreement, which every gardener signs when they receive a key for the front gate of the garden, as well as the rules in the Back Garden Plotholder Agreement.

Yearly Lists: There will be three yearly lists: (1) a Wait List for new gardeners, (2) a Sublet List and (3) Swap List for gardeners wishing to trade their plot for another plot. The Wait List, Sublet List and Swap List will be posted on the Garden News bulletin board. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the contact information posted is current and accurate.

Plot Assignment Subcommittee: There will be a plot assignment subcommittee consisting of at least three Steering Committee members who will jointly administer the three lists, assign plots, explain the garden and its rules to new gardeners and distribute rear garden gate keys. The subcommittee will report monthly any changes to the Steering Committee.

Wait List: Anyone wanting to be put on the Wait List must mail a postcard to the address listed above. Regardless of how many names appear on a postcard, each postcard is treated as one entity, will occupy only one line on the Wait List and will be offered only one plot. Request postcards will be added to the end of the Wait List in the order they are postmarked. Once a plot is assigned, additional names cannot be added.

Sublet List: A person on the wait list may choose to garden a sublet plot for one season. At the end of the one year sublease, the wait list gardener goes back to the top of the Wait List in the original order.

Swap List: A gardener with a plot may ask to trade his or her plot and will be put on the Swap List. Requests will be added to the end of the list in the order they are received by the Plot Committee. Only current gardeners with plots to trade will be put on this list.

Plot Assignments: Plots that become available will be offered first to persons on the Swap List. If the first gardener declines a plot, the second gardener will be offered the same plot. Likewise, the plot the gardener trades-in will be offered to other gardeners first on the Swap List and then on the Wait List.

Because time can be critical in a short growing season, if a person on either list cannot be reached after at least three phone calls on three different days, the next person on the list will be offered the plot. However, a person on the Wait List may give advance notice of an absence to a member of the plot subcommittee and may also give advance acceptance to the next available plot, sight-unseen. Calls to more than one person on the list may be made on a given day, as long as the second person is informed that the first person must be called once or twice more before the second person can accept the plot and skip over the previously contacted people. If skipped over, the first person does not lose his or her place on the list and will be contacted for the next available plot.

A gardener on the Swap List may decline up to three plots without losing his or her place on the list. However, after the third rejection he or she will move to the bottom of the Swap List. Everyone on the Wait List must accept the first plot offered. A new gardener may ask to trade his or her plot the next year by following procedures for the Swap List.