Community Gardens Bloom in the LES

In 1986, it was a contaminated bus depot. Today, the stretch of land on 11th and 12th Streets between First Avenue and Avenue A is filled with students playing on the playground, running around the basketball courts, and sitting in the grass. The Open Road Park is just one of the Lower East Side’s many community gardens.

Of New York City’s 640 community gardens, over 10 percent are located in the Lower East Side, according to NY1 in June 2008. Walking through the neighborhood, businesses and residential buildings are broken up by fences struggling to contain greenery, giving the urban neighborhood a lively feel.

“I think it’s awesome that we have all this space,” said an East Side Community High School student relaxing in the Open Road Park on a Monday afternoon. “It’s a good hang-out spot for everyone.”

Situated next to East Side Community High School, the Open Road Park’s skate ramps provide a unique option: gym class. According to the New York Times, it is the city’s only skateboarding class offered for school credit.

The Open Road Park, and all other community gardens, are a part of GreenThumb. Established in 1978, GreenThumb is an urban gardening program operated by the Department of Parks and Recreation. Volunteers turn vacant lots into green space, which is then managed by neighborhood residents.

The Lower East Side has community gardens on nearly every block. Some are a tiny sliver between two buildings, like El Sol Brillante Junior on 12th Street between Avenue A and B, while others stretch for a third of the block, like the Open Road Park.

Each garden has a unique personality. Some, like El Sol Brillante (across the street from El Sol Brillante Junior), are private parks with more upscale amenities like playgrounds. Others, like the Relaxation Garden at Avenue B and 13th Street, are filled with quirky mismatching furniture and toys. A billboard standing in the corner of the Relaxation Garden reminds passerbys what the garden could have been.

The gardens are all gated, but that doesn’t mean they’re not welcoming. Hours are usually posted on the fence near the padlock for residents and strangers alike to stop by. All GreenThumb gardens are required to be open for a minimum of ten hours a week.