Garden Of Happiness

Prospect Av bet. E 181 St and E 182 St

Bronx

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This garden was built by community members in 1988 on three former city-owned lots. Its name refers to the hopes of area residents that it be a haven from the city streets and a source of pride for the community that surrounds it.

In the late 1980s, the lot was slated for development, but the project was abandoned when developers discovered that the land was embedded with bedrock. The lot began to accumulate garbage, and concerned community members built a fence around the lot and enlisted the help of Operation GreenThumb to clean up and develop the land.