Overview of NYC Garden Land Trusts
In March 2004, TPL officially created three new nonprofit organizations to take over the ownership and management of gardens it currently owns. The Bronx (16 gardens), Brooklyn/Queens (34 gardens), and Manhattan (14 gardens) land trusts are each hiring staff to work with the boards of directors to help raise funds and manage the land trusts. The Trust for Public Land will provide $200,000 in start-up funds for each land trust. Each land trust will have the opportunity in the future to acquire additional open spaces to preserve them for public use.
In 1999, New York City was set to destroy more than 100 community gardens through a public auction. The TPL, in a last-minute deal reached with the city, agreed to purchase 62 of the gardens. The land trusts ensure that the gardens are protected as neighborhood resources for public use, and that the volunteer groups managing each garden are open to accepting new members and are governed democratically through group decisions including voting and elections.
Tremont Community Garden,
Bronx Land Trust
Photo by: Pedro Diez
Albert's Garden, Manhattan
Land Trust
Photo by: Manuel Lebron
A core group of gardeners, serving as the leaders in each of the three new land trusts, has had extensive discussions and training, and continues to make critical decisions, about the governance and operation of each land trust. Each has a 15-person board of directors including gardeners and experts elected by the garden memberships. The boards have the principal responsibility for leading and managing all aspects of the land trusts.
Rogers/Tilden/Veronica Place Garden,
Brooklyn Queens Land Trust
Photo by: Pedro Diez
The land trust gardens are part of the larger community of gardens in New York City and may receive services and support from GreenThumb (a program within the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation).
Updated 8/2005
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