The new Carmen Pabon Garden is now open to the public on weekends

Back in October, local elected officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official opening of the Carmen Pabon Garden — named for the longtime LES activist and community gardner — on Avenue C between Eighth Street and Seventh Street. (Carmen died last fall at age 94.)

While it appeared that someone had been tending to the space ... there hadn't been any notice about the space being open to the public...



However, sometime last week, a sign arrived noted that the garden is now open Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. (weather permitting) ...



DNAinfo reported last fall that local architect Paul Castrucci designed the garden, which features Magnolia and Pink Dogwood trees, cherry laurel and holly shrubs.

Eastville Gardens, the apartment complex whose official address is 342 E. Eighth St., is on the site once occupied by El Jardin de la Esperanza. The 22-year-old garden was bulldozed in February 2000 to make way for the new development via Donald Capoccia of BFC Partners. (You can read more background here.)


[File photo via Dave on 7th]

Ribbon-cutting ceremony marks return of a community garden on Avenue C

[Image via @RosieMendez]

As we've been noting in recent months, the empty lot between Eastville Gardens and 115 Avenue C (between Eighth Street and Seventh Street) has been renovated to create a new community garden.

On Wednesday afternoon, local elected officials, led by City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the official opening of the Carmen Pabon Garden ... named for the longtime LES activist and community gardner. (She is in the above photo to the right of the sign.)

There's some contentious history here... Eastville Gardens, the apartment complex whose official address is 342 E. Eighth St., is on the site once occupied by El Jardin de la Esperanza. The 22-year-old garden was bulldozed in February 2000 to make way for the new development via Donald Capoccia of BFC Partners. (You can read more background here.)

According to the Lo-Down, who attended the ceremony:

Before the ribbon cutting, Capoccia made brief remarks, telling community activists gathered in the newly opened space, “It’s really the beginning of my rehabilitation” in the neighborhood. Capoccia said he’s now an, “embracer of community gardens.”

DNAinfo reports that local architect Paul Castrucci designed the garden, which features Magnolia and Pink Dogwood trees, cherry laurel and holly shrubs. It will reportedly be open year-round.

Carmen's Garden finally reopening to the public today Lower East Side #CommunityGardens this Garden help save all the gardens long story learn your history #directaction #corporatemedia

A video posted by Museum of Reclaimed UrbanSpace (@morusnyc) on Oct 26, 2016 at 1:45pm PDT

You can watch a video biography of Pabon here.


[Photo from last month by Dave on 7th]

Previously on EV Grieve:
Part of a community garden reappears 16 years after it was bulldozed

Part of a community garden reappears 16 years after it was bulldozed

Landscaping aside, work appears to be complete in the long-empty lot between Eastville Gardens and 115 Avenue C (between Eighth Street and Seventh Street)...





Eastville Gardens, the apartment complex whose official address is 342 E. Eighth St., is on the site once occupied by El Jardin de la Esperanza. The 22-year-old garden was bulldozed in February 2000 to make way for the new development, which includes 20 percent affordable housing. (The New York Times weighed in with an editorial on this here.)

The site was the scene of several protests in early 2000. Dozens of people were arrested, as the Times reported.

Some people have said that there was an agreement between the developer, Donald Capoccia of BFC Partners, and local residents that this plot of land would be returned for use as a community garden.

L+M Development Partners bought the 7-story building that includes the Associated for $44 million back in the spring.

In any event, this Sunrise Garden is named for Carmen Pabon... (You can watch a video biography of Pabon here.)



No word at the moment when (or if) this will actually be open to the public (or maybe just Eastville residents?) ... and who was ultimately responsible for making this happen. Capoccia? L+M Development Partners? Local elected officials?

Thanks to Dave on 7th for the photos!