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rfmcdonaldOne of the pleasant surprises I encountered on my walkabout about uptown Manhattan, long before I got to Central Park and Strawberry Fields, was the Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial Garden on 122nd Street East in Harlem.
I was walking west on this street towards St. Nicholas Avenue when I saw dense greenery behind a black wrought iron fence. I looked inside and peered at the signs on the gate (first photo below). A passerby, Denise, then told me that this garden was actually open, that someone was inside and I could go in. (She was a neighbourhood resident, and--she told me--she spent wonderful times growing up there.) So, I entered and photographed.
The early history of the garden was described in a 2001 posting on a community gardens mailing list.
As told briefly here and more extensively in the chronologies at the garden's official website (Project Harmony, Inc.), there were disputes between community organizers and real estate developer for control of the land. Although half of the land apparently went to developers, enough of the garden remained to survive to today.
I was walking west on this street towards St. Nicholas Avenue when I saw dense greenery behind a black wrought iron fence. I looked inside and peered at the signs on the gate (first photo below). A passerby, Denise, then told me that this garden was actually open, that someone was inside and I could go in. (She was a neighbourhood resident, and--she told me--she spent wonderful times growing up there.) So, I entered and photographed.
The early history of the garden was described in a 2001 posting on a community gardens mailing list.
Project Harmony, Inc., was founded in 1985 by a relative newcomer to Harlem, Cynthia Nibbelink, and her elderly neighbor, Mr. Joseph Daniel Wilson, a native of Guyana. The two decided to clean up a filthy, crime-ridden vacant lot and make it into a garden. A group of teenagers and a few local residents pitched in, along with Haja Worley--lead singer for the Malcolm-King College Gospel Chorus. Cynthia taught part-time at the College, and had joined the Gospel chorus where she met Worley.
Thus began an effort which, years later, has developed into a vibrant grassroots community organization with programs championing children and women-in-transition. The vacant lot has become a magical woodland, with a pond, a small sunshed, mulberry trees galore, pear , plum and cherry trees, hundreds of herbs, flowers, vegetables and even a bee hive. Its fence is a wonderful laser-cut steel sculpted design made by sculptor and artist Stephen Schmerfeld. Mr. Wilson died in 1992, but the garden, now "The Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial Garden," lives on in his memory. Haja Worley and Cynthia married and are now co-directors of Project Harmony, Inc., which hosts numerous projects, programs and events every year.
As told briefly here and more extensively in the chronologies at the garden's official website (Project Harmony, Inc.), there were disputes between community organizers and real estate developer for control of the land. Although half of the land apparently went to developers, enough of the garden remained to survive to today.
