MANHATTAN
When a city reduces fire services in the areas where the most fires occur most often buildings burn down. Vacant lots appear. You find buildings like the one shown above. This building has lost both of its neighbors.
Buildings that survived the storm of fire and neglect in the 70s and 80s never fail to amaze me. Especially those who stand alone after all surrounding residences have vanished.
As for the vacant lots, they didn't remain vacant for long. In many parts of Manhattan and the Bronx these lots became "community gardens" the remaining residents were often too poor to buy the lots or build on them, but they understood that it was a shame to have their neighborhood dotted with little wastelands filled with broken glass and debris.
You can find these gardens in alphabet city, Harlem, and El barrio. In the 80s many were converted in to "parks" --they may bear the park logo, but the official designation is "community garden." (see the community gardens mapping project for more info-- they have killer search engine there that is also great for finding out the "official" designation of any empty lots or abandon buildings in your neighborhood.)
These days, with brownstone shells (that means no floors, no roof just the walls and foundation) selling for half a million (or more!) is it time to redevelop the garden lots? This question has created quite a controversy. Who should be in charge of these redevelopments if they happen at all? And who should benefit? Can a city have too many "community gardens?"
One complaint often voiced about the gardens is they are not public enough.
Here is one on Lexington-- right next to the building shown above.
How do I get access to that plastic Santa Clause? I need to join Sanidad Del Cielo it would seem...
I guess my concern is these little gardens do not get very much funding, so they cannot be run as full parks. Volunteers must be present to open and close the parks and so often they are fenced in.
There was one such garden just a block from where I used to live in Harlem and I never managed to get in there even once. So, I think it might make sense to redevelop some of the parks and then sell (auction?) to raise funds to run the others like REAL community gardens-- pay some of the volunteers to keep them open longer. Give them money for... um... better decorations. I don't mean to knock "Sanidad Del Cielo" -- but it looks a lot more like West Virginia in there than Manhattan. (I don't mean to knock WV either! I mean, my folks are from there!)
The key is to keep the control over any changes in the hands of the people who took care of these lots when nobody else cared.
