This project began as an exploration of citizenship of the soil, and ended up becoming a photoessay on the state of community garden spaces across New York City's five boroughs. While conceptualized as a way to gain independence from food systems, build small pockets of communities tilling the soil, or a way to literally and figuratively lay down roots for future generations, community gardens have become instead solace for rest and slowness, in a city famous for its soaring rent prices, limited space, and faster pace of life.
Writing
Andrea Ang
Photography
Andrea Ang
Staten Island
The Roots of Peace Community Garden define the community gardens in Staten Island -- located deep within residential suburbs and within walking distance of a school, the community gardens are a place for families with small children to discover a relationship with the soil.
An October morning at Roots of Peace Community Garden. Photographed by Andrea Ang
A plant box decorated by children at a local school, on a patch of green beside Roots of Peace Community Garden. Photographed by Andrea Ang
Manhattan
Manhattan's community garden pockets are found all over. Harlem's and the East Village's gardens are some of the most visited -- not necessarily to toil the land, but as an open space for visitors and residents to come together. In Harlem's Pleasantville Community Garden, 117th St Community Garden, and Diamante Community Garden, these spaces are molded into small reflections of the residents' hometowns. Meanwhile, in the East Village's 6th St and Ave B Community Garden, 11th St Community Garden, 9th St Community Garden, and 6BC Botanical Garden, long-time residents invite refugeees, migrants, tourists, and new neighbourhoods alike into the fold via open events, collaborative agriculture efforts, and food systems education.
A visitor at 6th St and Ave B Community Garden goes home with a gift from the garden's residents: a backpack full of greens. Photographed by Andrea Ang
Pleasantville Community Garden is proudly declared as "Puerto Rico" by community leaders. Photographed by Andrea Ang
A community member helps clean up fall foliage at 117th St Community Garden. Photographed by Andrea Ang
Nonprofit environmental group Green Guerillas hosts a seedling distribution event at the 6th St and Avenue B Community Garden. Photographed by Andrea Ang
A long-time East Village resident proudly shows her garden's growth. Photographed by Andrea Ang
A community feeding event at 6th St and Ave B Community Garden uses produce borne of the garden's land. Photographed by Andrea Ang
Residents of 6th St and Ave B Community Garden enjoy their last harvest of the year. Photographed by Andrea Ang
Residents of the East Village maintain their own plots of land in 6th St and Ave B Community Garden, or work in a communal soil. Photographed by Andrea Ang
6BC Botanical Garden has become a lush green space for respite and companionship. Photographed by Andrea Ang
6BC Botanical Garden houses a unique treehouse with a community library. Photographed by Andrea Ang
Brooklyn
In Brooklyn, community gardens function similarly to 6/15 Community Garden, guiding the garden's development together. This includes deciding when their newly minted 'Great Tree,' a giant Weeping Willow at garden's edge, needs a trim to avoid danger to cars and pedestrians alike; or creating a solid shifting schedule wtih specific tasks to keep the graden in shape.
6/15 Community Garden in Brooklyn serves as a pseudo community space, with nearby residents dropping by for conversations and communal activities. Photographed by Andrea Ang
6/15 Community Garden is a well managed community garden, with a singular vision of the natural resources they have. Photographed by Andrea Ang
6/15 Community Garden is home to one of New York City's newly minted 'Great Trees,' a large Weeping Willow. Photographed by Andrea Ang
Queens
A series of community gardens on 69th St and Woodside Ave are under the care of New Roots Queens, which works on programming for food sovereignty for a melting pot of different cultures.
At a community garden along 6th St and Woodside Ave in Queens, a single crop grows roadside. Photographed by Andrea Ang
Queens' slivers of green are developed by local communities for their collective benefit. Photographed by Andrea Ang
The Bronx
In the Bronx, 138th St Community Gardens is still a work in progress. While land is available -- with another community garden nearby -- it has not yet been brought into use by the local community.
138th St Community Garden is a work in progress. Photographed by Andrea Ang
