1975 image of Liz Christy in one of her Lower East Side gardens.
Sustainability in New York City takes its roots in the activism of community gardeners and the drive for green space. As early as the World War I New York Citizens created community gardens in order subsidize their grocery budgets. Community gardens have always flourished in times of economic hardship as a way for citizens to actively to improve their quality of life. Around the 1970s their function took on a different role. In times of rampant corruption, urban blight, and disinvestment the citizens took community gardens into their own hands. “Community gardens were often guerilla operations in which gardeners would occupy vacant lots without permission”.[i] Seed bombs were created in New York City, where guerilla gardeners would fill water balloons with seeds over fences into vacant lots trying to create more green spaces. This movement spread rapidly and gained a significant amount of support from citizens, one estimate puts the amount of community gardens in 1985 over 1,000.[ii] Many of the gardens were on abandoned lots and the gardens were trespassing in the eyes of the law and many city officials. In 1978 Operation Green Thumb was created to serve as the liaison between the government and the gardeners, as well as provide horticultural expertise, training and resources.[iii] This organization gave legitimacy to the work the gardeners had put in. Today community gardens are still prevalent and important green spaces in the dense urban environment. All five boroughs have multiple gardens all maintained by local volunteers, these activism gardens are the citizen’s opportunity to contribute and take control for the health of their neighborhood.
[i] Librizzi, L. 2001. Interview with Christopher Smith. New York City, 26 October.
[ii] Ferguson, S. iyyy. A Brief History of Grassroots Greening in NYC. http://www.newvillage.net. Accessed on July 26, 2013.
[iii] Smith, C. M. And Kurtz, H. E. 2003. “Community gardens and politics of scale in new york city”. Geographical review, 93: 193–212. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2003.tb00029.x/full Accessed on July 26, 2013.
[ii] Ferguson, S. iyyy. A Brief History of Grassroots Greening in NYC. http://www.newvillage.net. Accessed on July 26, 2013.
[iii] Smith, C. M. And Kurtz, H. E. 2003. “Community gardens and politics of scale in new york city”. Geographical review, 93: 193–212. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2003.tb00029.x/full Accessed on July 26, 2013.