LaGuardia Corner Gardens

 
News  LaGuardia Corner Gardens is on City land subject to development. For several years members have sought to transfer the land from the Dept. of Transportation to Parks, to make the garden more secure. NYU blocks the transfer. NYU intends to develop 1.5 million square feet on its two superblocks, see NYU 2031. A 38-story tower on the landmarked Silver Towers site, or a bulky alternative on the supermarket site next to the garden, would block the sun, without which LCG would no longer be a flower garden. Death by shade. NYU will submit its plans to the NYC Planning Commission. Please support LCG by emailing or writing to the Mayor and your NYC Council Member to support transfer of the garden to Parks, and to urge relocation of NYU’s development plan to lower Manhattan or Governors Island. In the News NYU Proposals & Responses “Neighbors Take Chops at N.Y.U. Fourth-Tower Plan,” The Villager, June 23- 29, 2010 “N.Y.U. Releases Images of Bleecker St. Tower Plan,” The Villager, June 16 - 22, 2010 “N.Y.U. Unveils Rezoning for its Two Superblocks,” The Villager, June 2 - 8, 2010 “Too Big to Fail? N.Y.U. Keeps Growing and Growing . . . ,” The Villager, April 28 - May 4, 2010 “Critics Turn Out at Open House on N.Y.U. Expansion, “ NYT, April 14, 2010 “N.Y.U. Hopes to Start Building on Superblocks Within 2 Years,” The Villager, April 7 - 13, 2010 “N.Y.U. Plans to Expand Campuses by 40 Percent,” NYT, March 20, 2010 “Two Hundred Turn Out to Try to Head Off N.Y.U. Growth,” The Villager, July 1 - 7, 2009 “N.Y.U. Zeros in On Tower, Plinth, ‘Zipper’,” The Villager, April 23 - 29, 2008 “Nip N.Y.U. Growth,” Letters to the Editor, The Villager, Feb. 20 - 26, 2008 “N.Y.U. Goes Gonzo on Its Superblock in New Ideas,” The Villager, Feb. 6 - 12, 2008 NYU 2031 2008 “N.Y.U. Offers an Accord On Growth,” NYT, Jan. 30, 2008 “N.Y.U Agrees to new Planning Principles from B.P. Taskforce,” The Villager, Jan. 30 - Feb. 5, 2008 “NYU Throws Community a Landmark Bone; Supports Designating Pei’s Towers,” NY Observer, Feb. 11, 2008 “How Much of N.Y.U. Superblock to Landmark is Issue,” The Villager, July 2 - 8, 2008 “N.Y.U. is Really Growing on Us, Not in a Good Way,” The Villager, September 24 - 30, 2010 2007 “N.Y.U. Commits to Creating a Master Plan for Its Growth,” The Villager, March 7 - 10, 2007 “N.Y.U. President Wants Less Conflict, More Conversation ,” The Villager, May 2 - 8, 2007 “N.Y.U. Growth is on the Charts: More Students, More Buildings,” June 20 - 26, 2007 “With Door Open to Neighbors, N.Y.U. Shapes Plans for Growth,” NYT, July 2, 2007 “N.Y.U. Eyes Superblock for Super-sizing Plan,” The Villager, Dec. 12 - 18, 2007 2004 “Strip Poker on Superblocks; Does N.Y.U. Hold the Cards,” The Villager, June 23 - 29, 2004 “Strip Show and Tell -- N.Y.U. Exposed,” The Villager, June 23 -29, 2004 “Sparks Fly Over Strips at Parks Committee Meeting,” The Villager, Oct. 13 - 19, 2004 “It’s Time for N.Y.U. to Stop Blocking Superblocks Transfer,” The Villager, Oct. 13 - 19, 2004 “The Townsfolk Rebel Against Omnipotent NYU, Again,” The Villager, Oct. 20 - 26, 2004 Articles and Listings American Community Garden Association “It’s Raining Coyotes and Roosters Out There,” NYT, Jan. 21, 2010 Place Matters, City Lore and the Municipal Art Society “Plant Therapy: LaGuardia Community Garden,” Apartment Therapy, June 2, 2007 “Secret Gardens,” The Morning News, Oct. 24, 2007 “Whodunnit Dept. Bird Nap,” The New Yorker, July 9, 2007 State Attorney General’s Office An agreement between the Mayor of New York and the NYS Attorney General was signed in 2002. It provides a review process for community gardens. The agreement sunsets in September 2010. What will protect the gardens then? The NYC Council Committee on Parks has held hearings on this matter and has introduced a resolution to protect the City’s community gardens. The NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation has proposed rules to govern the gardens. These rules have been opposed by the NYC Community Garden Coalition. NYC Council NYC Council Resolution 1890, introduced to protect community gardens. Please email the sponsors of the Resolution to show your support. Awards Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Mollie Parness Dress Up Your Neighborhood In Remembrance In April 2007 the garden planted the Love and Peace rose in honor and remembrance of Auxiliary Police Officers Nicholas Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik of the Sixth Precinct, who died while in pursuit of the killer of Alfredo Romero Morales. Participants in LCG’s Children’s Program The Children’s Aid Society The Cooke Center Academy Little Red Schoolhouse PS 41 - The Greenwich Village School The Village Community School Research In the summer of 2007 the garden participated in field research conducted by a graduate student at Columbia University. Kristy King hypothesized that gardens with increased plant structural complexity (more trees and shrubs as opposed to just vegetable crops) would have more beneficial insects and, in turn, fewer pests.  The results of her research led to the conclusion that community gardeners need not scale back food production in order to decrease the population of pests. Parasitoid wasps that feed on pests are capable of "tracking" pest populations across a large and urbanized landscape. Increasing the number of street trees around each garden may facilitate the movement of beneficial insects throughout the urban matrix, so this may be one way for gardeners to manage for healthy insect populations within their gardens.  Perhaps the large-scale tree planting initiative that is a part of Plan NYC 2030 will enhance the diversity of beneficial insects in community gardens, while also increasing air quality and reducing the urban heat island effect in New York City. Useful Sites Brooklyn Botanical Garden Celebrate Urban Birds Citizens Committee for New York City Garden Guide Clinton Community Garden Grow NYC Earth Celebrations Garden Visit Green Guerillas GreenThumb More Gardens National Wildlife Federation Neighborhood Open Space Coalition NYC Community Gardens Coalition NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation NY Metropolitan Flora Project of the BBG New York Botanical Garden New York Restoration Project New Yorkers for Parks The Villager Trust for Public Land 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