W 104th Street Garden

The West 104th Street Garden is comprised of twin lots that border on either side of an apartment building and are attached at the back by a walkway. Within the two parcels are lawn areas, an herb patch, vegetable beds, picnic areas, and a small gathering space; there are tool sheds in each of the two parcels for storing and protecting the garden’s tools.  A grand gazebo, recently furnished with a new roof is the focus of the eastern lot.  In the western lot is the Jesse Crawford Rose Arbor.  Jesse Crawford (1929-1996) was one of the chief organizers of the garden.  His lifelong devotion to community service and his determination to make the West 104th Street Garden a reality was memorialized after his passing with the naming of this rose arbor.

Over seventy households actively maintain the garden during the growing season.  Individuals, as well as organizations such as the Junior League, the Jewish Community Center, and Columbia University’s Community Impact program contribute their time to keeping the site accessible, active and in good ‘garden’ health.  The community has hosted flea markets, seasonal parties, open houses, movie showings, and a community health fair in this garden.

For two decades, these twin lots lay vacant.  In 1993, the North West Central Park Multi-block Association provided the financial and organizational support to clean up the lots.  Further assistance came from Operation GreenThumb, a Parks initiative that facilitates the transformation of vacant city lots into community gardens.  GreenThumb, which is funded largely by community-block grants from the federal Housing and Urban Development program, enabled the West 104th Street community to purchase the garden tools and materials like seeds and topsoil needed to convert the vacant property into a garden.

The history of the garden is a chronicle of community involvement.  In 1998, members of the garden community successfully lobbied to have the property transferred to Parks to insure its permanence as a public park. On August 12, 1998, the City transferred the garden to Parks.  The West 104th Street Garden is an expression of local residents’ ability to build and maintain open green spaces for the community.