Cleaning up the Relaxation Garden on Avenue B and 13th Street

Several Parks Department workers descended upon the dormant Relaxation Garden on 13th Street and Avenue B and removed trash and debris this past Thursday.



As the Post reported, the GreenThumb garden, part of the city’s urban gardening program, had been locked up the past two years during renovation work next door. During this time, the space had become infested with rats — thanks in part to the NYCHA-controlled trash compactor adjacent to the lot.


[Photo from yesterday]

Per the Post:

For about four hours, the workers hauled away trash and construction debris from the lot at Avenue B and East 13th Street, cut down a tree, pruned shrubs and hacked at weeds.

“It’s going to come back as a community garden. We can’t say when,” a Parks Department worker told The Post.

The workers also removed the GreenThumb-branded Relaxation Garden sign from the fence.

Meanwhile, the construction at the building next door, 207 Avenue B, remains at a standstill. The city issued a Stop Work Order in March 2017 because the contractor of record withdrew from the project. That Order is still in place as of Friday.



The Parks Department was reportedly working with 207's landlord to expedite the work so that the garden can reopen.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: Rats running rampant in the Relaxation Garden on Avenue B and 13th Street

Report: Rats running rampant in the Relaxation Garden on Avenue B and 13th Street

Residents say that rats measuring up to a foot long have been spotted in and around the Relaxation Garden on Avenue B at 13th Street, the Post reports.



The GreenThumb garden, part of the city’s urban gardening program, has been locked up the past two years during renovation work next door...





While closed, the garden has become a dumping ground ... and a breeding ground for rats, who apparently have a buffet at their disposal adjacent to the property.

Per the Post:

Some residents blame the growing rat infestation at the lot at Avenue B and East 13th Street on an adjacent trash-compactor area that serves neighboring buildings and NYCHA’s nearby Campos Plaza II housing development.

The trash compactor is privately managed, NYCHA spokesman Chester Soria said.

As a result, the sidewalk there has become a dumping ground for garbage, residents said Friday.

Making matters worse, another maintenance worker, who takes care of trash from two buildings on the block for C&C Management, said the city picks up garbage only “once every five days.”

Department of Sanitation spokeswoman Dina Montes said that “at a minimum” the agency “empties the compact container at this location three times a week.”

Aside from the fact that no one seems to know who's supposed to empty the dumpster (the city or a private company?), the construction at the building next door, 207 Avenue B, is at a standstill. The city issued a Stop Work Order in March 2017 because the contractor of record withdrew from the project.

The Parks Department is reportedly working with 207's landlord to expedite the work so that the garden can reopen.

The rat-baiting caution sign on the garden gate was last dated Feb. 27...



... and this is the poison that some property owners don't properly use, allowing any animal to ingest it... (one of the red-tailed fledglings in Tompkins Square Park died yesterday morning from rodenticide poisoning)...



Back to the Post:

“The city? They don’t do nothing,” added Juan Rivera, 57, who lives at the nearby Tanya Towers. “The rats are so big, like cats. I’m scared. Everybody is scared.”