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Could THIS be a garden?

Hunters Point Footbridge
As one goes down the steps from the footbridge over the LIRR tracks, after passing under the LIE, there's a sliver of land the shape of a skinny piece of pizza. Since I'd been making the short trek from the No. 7 train on days I did not drive, I'd noticed this little parcel of land. How very sad; underutilized and barren. Until a clean up in early May (I've later learned it must be the MTA who cleans here periodically), it had been a dump for tires, for cans and bottles and goodness knows what else. It was truly ugly.

So, until May, I thought the idea of a garden was impossible. All those tires, all those cans and terrible weeds. Then one day, the place was cleaned up, leaving it more or less with nothing there. Few weeds had begun to peek through the broken glass and metal in the soil; nothing was visible except rocks and broken glass buried in the earth.

Why not make this into a garden? Well, at least, try.
But how? No water in sight.

A week later, I was up in New England visiting two different friends with gardens. Before I knew it, I'd signed on to take their extra plants, and began filling my car with all sorts of perennials that would not demand too much attention. And, with lots of experienced advice, I also came back to NYC with three huge bags of prime earth. It was home mulched and ready to go.

Slowly I started on May 15. Because it was a Saturday, there wern't many cars around, and not the usual foot traffic over the bridge. After surveying the area, I put my shovel in the ground: it was hard as the rocks that accounted for at least 30% of it. And, then the glass. I felt like quitting. Quit? Nothing to do but persist, as I had the plants in the car.

But within an hour, I had my first volunteer. I had nearly finished putting the three Montauk Daisy plants in their new beds of mulched soil. I was ready to stop for the day. After all, I'd hauled all the water down from my building bucket by bucket. I took his name and told him I'd contact him.

The next day, I had my second volunteer. It seemed like every third person who came over the footbridge had a comment to make, a thank you. This was beginning to seem like something worth pursuing. Now the search began for the true owner of the land, just to do it right: MTA, LICC, or private?












The plot 'before'.

Comments

  1. Gyda GashJune 1, 2010 at 10:15 PM

    For years I have passed this piece of land under the footbridge - it was an eyesore filled with weeds, garbage, and all sorts of nasty debris. I'm overjoyed that you have transformed it into a budding little garden! You certainly have the support from others in the area like myself. We will bring cuttings and seeds and we will make them grow!
    There are some feral cats who do call this area their home. Some individuals set up a little shelter for them and fed them regularly. I hope they continue to do so. Cats and gardens go together quite nicely!
    :)

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