The Stockholm Community Garden is Bushwick resident's latest community effort to utilize largely abandoned city lots, reports The Brownstoner. A formerly disregarded lot at 139 Stockholm St, Brooklyn has been transformed into a large, collaborative community garden by block residents.
Over the years, the 2,499-square-foot lot became a dumping ground for neighborhood trash and a breeding ground for rats. And when John McGrath, a project manager, along with his husband Andrew Engel, a horticulturist, bought their apartment in a neighboring building around five years ago they quickly set out to improve the conditions of the space. Along with others in their building, McGrath and Engel set about cleaning up the space, weeding the area, getting rid of rubbish and seed-bombing flowers.
“The first thing that John did with our neighbors was build this tiny little box out there in front of that pole where the trash was going, so it’s sort of a form of guerilla gardening, and they started getting positive feedback,” Engel said. “There was a guy…he came out with these big planters, he’s like ‘They were in my garage, you guys should do something with them’. So I think the feedback sort of encouraged us to kind of get going with it.”
With the help of GreenThumb, the core group behind the project hopes to see the space used for community events and organized classes. Although GreenThumb is reportedly leasing the space from the NYPD for free, there is always the risk the spot could be reclaimed at some point which is extra motivation for community members to ensure that the garden becomes such a community asset that tearing down isn’t an option.
“One of the big things we know, because we’ve been involved in community gardens in the past, is becoming exclusionary and difficult to join is generally the first sign of the death knell of a garden,” McGrath said. “We’re not giving preference to ourselves, you know, not putting any one person forward. It’s an open community space.”
Ahead of opening next weekend, the group has already planted seeds for some wildflowers and built some planters, with plans to start out with a communal herb garden, and a native flora and fauna garden. They have also laid soil and wood chips and installed a gardening shed.
Anyone interested in joining the garden can reach out over Facebook, Instagram or to email stockholmcommunitygarden@gmail.
Currently, the space offers two membership options: $50 per person for a key plus volunteer hours or no fee with increased volunteer hours. The money will go into a garden bank account and will be put toward tools, events, projects and plants.
“We want it to be open to everyone,” McGrath said.
