City Hall Park
Manhattan
UPDATE: GreenThumb has extended the license agreement deadline to September 20th so are canceling the rally at City Hall scheduled for Monday as we continue negotiations with the Parks Department.
We are pleased that GreenThumb has extended the license agreement deadline to September 20.
------
Stand with us on Monday, August 19th at 10am to deliver a citywide community stakeholder response to the City's one-sided license for volunteer-run community gardens on the steps of City Hall.
The 2019 Community Garden License Agreement (License) and GreenThumb Gardeners’ Handbook (Handbook) reveals NYC Department of Parks & Recreation’s (Parks) lack of trust in community gardeners, despite gardeners’ decades of responsible stewardship. The License and Handbook contain additional requirements which are burdensome for both gardeners and GreenThumb, and which will hinder the community outreach and engagement that are hallmarks of 550 community gardens in New York City.
We've been working with GreenThumb to resolve the outstanding issues that community gardeners have with the license. We have offered solutions that we believe fair and that will provide a continuing equal partnership with the Parks Department. Most of our suggestions have been brushed aside. GreenThumb has announced that “community garden groups that do not submit complete relicensing documents by August 19, 2019 will not be permitted to continue operating a community garden."
Join us at City Hall to demand clear and sensible rules for community gardens. We will organize for the rally during our general meeting on August 15th.
