Re: gardens in NYC
Sara Prout (sprout@california.net)
Fri, 14 May 1999 10:30:22 -0700
> It's unfortunate that the city could not see the
> social benefit (and even crime prevention effect) that these gardens provide,
> and that an individual had to save the day, but I guess that's the way things
> work sometimes. Blessed be, that it has come to this resolution.
>
> Sara
>
> Erika Higgins wrote:
>
> > A Victory for all gardeners! Thank you divine Miss M!!!
> >
> > (from the New York Times - 5/13/99)
> > A day before the Giuliani administration was to auction off city-owned
> > lots that had been transformed into community gardens, the performer Bette
> > Midler had her private conservation organization agree to buy dozens of the
> > less desirable parcels, providing the final financing to preserve all 112
> > gardens that were set for sale.
> >
> > The 11th-hour announcement ended a long-running dispute between city
> > officials who said the parcels were ripe for sale and residents who viewed
> > themselves as gardeners tending to verdant oases in neighborhoods of
> > concrete and steel. But the fate of more than 600 other lots that were not
> > part of the auction remains unclear.
> >
> > Nevertheless, the $1.2 million purchase of 51 lots by the New York
> > Restoration Project -- arranged by a singer and actress better known for
> > her engaging flamboyance than for her diplomatic skills -- provided a vital
> > piece in the city's negotiations with environmental groups.
> >
> > The offer cleared the way for another conservation group, the Trust for
> > Public Land, to buy the rest of the 112 parcels for $3 million, a figure
> > that included an additional $1 million from Ms. Midler's organization.
> >
> > According to the deal, the two organizations are to work out plans to turn
> > over the properties to the community groups that tend to the gardens. If
> > the properties are ever used for anything other than gardens, ownership
> > will revert to the city, said Deputy Mayor Randy Levine, who helped in the
> > negotiations.
> >
> > -------------------------------
> > Erika Higgins
> > ehiggins@oxy.edu
> > 323-259-1426
> > Community Food Security Project
> > Occidental College
> >
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