Park Slope Community Garden Needs $6K To 'Keep The Gate Open'

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — In its more than two decades offering Park Slopers an escape from the city streets, the Green Space at President Street usually spends a few hundred dollars a year maintaining the 2,500-square-feet or so of its public community garden.

That's why, when the volunteers that run the garden heard that fixing the front gate on Fifth Avenue would cost anywhere from $4,500 to $6,000 they knew they would need some help.

"That's way more than we've ever had in our account," volunteer Michael Shaw said. "It's a simple problem, but with a really involved fix."

The front gate, which was put in nearly 20 years ago shortly after the garden opened, has been in a "slow and steady" decline for years.

Now, though, its heavy metal frame has caused a slant in the fence so deep that fixing it so the door can still fit through the opening means drudging up and re-pouring the concrete it stands on. Gardeners are still able to lock up the gate at night with a forceful push, Shaw said, but that is likely only to get worse as it falls further into disrepair.

To fix the door before it can't be open and shut for the community to use, though, the volunteers at the Green Space have started a campaign to raise the 10-times their annual budget to put it back into place.

The money will help make sure the garden, as it does now, can stay open to the public each day throughout the spring, summer and fall months.

"We're open all day and it gets a lot of use," Shaw said, explaining that other gardens are often only open when a gardener is doing work inside. "That's why this garden is kind of different than the other community gardens that you see. That's what makes it kind of special."

The Green Space at President Street is one of many spaces that was put into the hands of land trusts back in the 1990s when the then city-owned vacant lots were auctioned off.

It is owned by the Brooklyn Alliance of Neighborhood Gardens, or the BANG Land Trust, and includes a native plant area, an herb garden, a composting station and tables or benches for the public to enjoy. The garden also runs various events, like movie nights, live music or dance performances for the community.

Shaw, who has volunteered with the garden for about 12 years, said maintaining those functions for the community has even greater significance than when it started up.

"Now more than every...with the development craze, lots like this one are more important than they used to be," he said. "This is a tiny little spot away from all of that. It's like everyone's own little patio."

To donate to the Green Space's gate fundraiser, go to PayPal.me/PresidentStGarden or learn more at their Facebook page.