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40-541: The Liz Christy Bowery Houston Garden, originally named "Bowery-Houston Community Farm and Garden," traces its origins to 1973 when neighbor Liz Christy successfully petitioned the City of New York for access to make the vacant lot a garden for $ 1 a month. In 1973, Christy founded urban community garden group, the Green Guerillas , and in 1974 led the group in cleanup and creation of the garden. The Liz Christy Bowery Houston Garden

80-478: A group called the Green Guerillas in the early 1970s, intent on transforming derelict lots into gardens. Group members met on a regular basis to identify spaces, strategize, and discuss horticulture. Responding to the tendency of many lots to be fenced off, the group became known for their use of what they called " seed grenades " (or "green-aides"), a mix of seeds, fertilizer, water, and a substrate stuffed into

120-469: A literal grassroots revolution", blurring the lines between plant, tool, and weapon. Christy worked for an architect-planner who considered turning a vacant lot at the corner of Houston Street and Bowery into a farm, restoring the purpose it served in colonial times, in celebration of the United States bicentennial . She expressed in an interview that she found the lot depressing, recalling that "[i]n

160-494: A local community for the long-term viability of the gardens, rather than a small number of individuals. Though communities did not always secure the necessary permissions and paperwork, the city benefitted from the Green Guerillas and other community gardening projects as no-cost revitalization. In 1978, the city created an agency, Operation Green Thumb , dedicated to promoting and assisting with community-managed gardens and other projects utilizing open space. Among its activities

200-438: A receptacle like a glass Christmas tree ornament , balloon, or condom . Guerillas would lob the grenades over fences, with the hope that, after shattering, the seeds would take root, introducing plants and flowers to an ugly lot. According to Malve von Hassell, the seed bombs had an important symbolic meaning relevant to the group name's inspiration by militant radicals. The grenades were thrown into abandoned spaces "to start

240-399: A varied terrain and mature trees and shrubs, and is maintained by approximately 20 volunteer gardeners. Magnolia and weeping birch trees are among the lush vegetation to be found there. Two ponds support fish and turtles, there is a perennial lotus, a native plant habitat, vegetables, herbs, and many flowering plants. The tallest Dawn Redwood tree in the city is located at the garden. The garden

280-511: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Green Guerillas The Green Guerillas are a community group of horticulturalists , gardeners , botanists , and planners who work to turn abandoned or empty spaces in New York City into gardens. Formed in the 1970s, the group threw " seed grenades " into derelict lots and developed community gardens, often without going through official channels. It became especially popular after

320-605: Is a station at Seventh Avenue, for the Houston Street ( 1 and ​ 2 trains). The Bleecker Street station ( 4 , ​ 6 , and <6> trains) has station entrances on the north side of Houston Street, due to its connection with the Broadway – Lafayette Street station as part of a larger station complex. Exit 5 on the FDR Drive is on Houston Street. The street also connects directly with

360-475: Is helping to secure leases for vacant land. That program, which was moved into the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation in 1995, is still active as of 2021. In 1983, Green Guerillas logged 13,400 volunteer hours and had a budget of more than $ 40,000, which largely went to its two paid staff members, an executive director and her assistant. They ran a contest for window boxes , promoting

400-726: Is now the M9 between Avenues A and C . Additional service is provided by the eastbound M14D SBS east of Avenue D and the downtown M15 from Second Avenue to Allen Street. The M15 SBS doesn’t make any stops on Houston Street. A portion of the New York City Subway 's IND Sixth Avenue Line runs under Houston Street, between Sixth Avenue to just before Avenue A ; there are stations at Second Avenue ( F and <F> ​ trains) and Broadway – Lafayette Street ( B , ​ D , ​ F , <F> , and ​ M trains). Additionally, there

440-572: Is open to the public on Saturday from noon until 4PM, all year, on Sundays from noon until 4 PM, May to October, and Tuesday & Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. until dusk from May until October. The garden is included in many broadcast programs, magazines and papers, it is also featured in the BBC series, " Around the World In 80 Gardens " with Monty Don . This article about a location in Manhattan , New York

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480-402: Is pronounced " HYOO -stən " (" / ˈ h juː s t ən / "). The street was named for William Houstoun , whose surname was pronounced " HOW -stən ", while the city was named for Sam Houston . At its east end, Houston Street meets FDR Drive in an interchange at East River Park . West of FDR Drive, it intersects with Avenue D . Further west, other streets, including First Avenue ,

520-609: The Bowery , Lafayette Street and Broadway , intersect Houston Street. The Broadway intersection is the division point between East Houston Street and West Houston Street. Sixth Avenue intersects Houston Street at a curve in the road in Greenwich Village . East of Sixth Avenue, Houston street is bidirectional and separated by a median ; west of Sixth, the street is narrower and unidirectional westbound. West Houston Street terminates at an intersection with West Street near Pier 40 on

560-715: The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and State Environmental Quality Review Act . The suit persisted into the Bloomberg administration and was rejected by the State Supreme Court in 2002. In the interim, entertainer Bette Midler purchased some of the lots and another lawsuit was filed by State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer , arguing the intended auction was not legal under New York's environmental laws. That case, which ended in September 2002, resulted in

600-653: The West Village to the north; and the Lower East Side , most of the Bowery , Nolita , and SoHo to the south. The numeric street-naming grid in Manhattan, created as part of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 , begins immediately north of Houston Street with 1st Street at Avenue A . The street's name is pronounced " HOW -stən " (" / ˈ h aʊ s t ən / "), in contrast to the city of Houston , Texas, whose name

640-549: The Green Guerillas as a case study at the intersection of ecological restoration and environmental justice , showing that "it is possible for communities to see and understand their own needs, as well as develop the expertise necessary for at least some kinds of ecological restoration projects". Houston Street Houston Street ( / ˈ h aʊ s t ən / HOW -stən ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City , United States. It runs

680-589: The Guerillas produced materials focusing on the financial cost of such a sale, which would mean loss of a variety of community services, as well as the detrimental impact on quality of life in affected neighborhoods. Along with three members of the New York City Council and multiple community boards, the Guerillas filed a lawsuit against the Giuliani administration for failing to undergo required state reviews under

720-602: The Hudson River. Houston Street is named for William Houstoun , who was a delegate from the state of Georgia to the Continental Congress from 1784 through 1786 and to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The street was christened by Nicholas Bayard (b. 1736), whose daughter, Mary, was married to Houstoun in 1788. The couple met while Houstoun, a member of an ancient and aristocratic Scottish family,

760-433: The city were affiliated with the Green Guerillas. Helping communities work with city agencies to secure leases and otherwise ensure the persistence of the gardens has long been an important part of the Green Guerillas' activities. A 1991 Newsday article described the organization's evolution since its early days: "Once, Green Guerillas worked against the system, outsiders fighting layers of bureaucracy to green up some of

800-466: The collection and reuse of plants, securing donations of plants as well as bulbs, seeds, soil, pots, and tolls from farms, gardens, and other nonprofits and businesses in the region. The group would hold giveaway events from the Bowery–Houston Garden, notifying community gardens in the area that resources will be available for pick-up. As of 1991, 450 of the approximately 700 community gardens in

840-436: The concerted redevelopment of a dangerous, trash-filled space at the corner of Houston Street and Bowery in Manhattan . The resulting press coverage and word of mouth led the group to broaden its activities from active gardening to education, training, and support for a number of community groups working on their own gardens. The Green Guerillas have been credited with beginning the community garden movement and popularizing

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880-540: The current Houston Street, from Sixth Avenue to the West Side Highway , was known as "Hammersley Street" (also spelled "Hamersly Street") until the middle 19th century, and was inside Greenwich Village . It later came to be regarded as the Village's southern boundary. In 1891, Nikola Tesla established his laboratory on Houston Street. Much of Tesla's research was lost in an 1895 fire. The street, originally narrow,

920-611: The full width of the island of Manhattan , from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in the west. The street is divided into west and east sections by Broadway . Houston Street generally serves as the boundary between neighborhoods on the East Side of Manhattan— Alphabet City , the East Village , NoHo , Greenwich Village , and

960-419: The group grew considerably over the years, running workshops on pruning trees, cultivating wildflower meadows, rooftop gardening, and construction of a pond. In addition to teaching communities about plants, the Green Guerillas taught how to design a garden, how to develop operational procedures, and how to interact with the city. They treated gardeners as neighborhood leaders and required every project to involve

1000-475: The group in 1976 reported that they received $ 356 in donations in their first three years, with $ 3,500 in expenses, paid out of volunteers' pockets. In response to growing interest from other communities, the Green Guerillas began developing informational materials for communities who wanted to do the same. They ran workshops, offered to survey sites, made recommendations, and sometimes secured donated plants and trees. The organizational and support functions of

1040-541: The idea of guerilla gardening . Amid a financial crisis in the 1970s , several areas of New York City, like the Lower East Side of Manhattan , were particularly affected by disinvestment and saw an associated increase in abandoned buildings, some of which attracted crime. Many were demolished, and the number of vacant lots increased. Many remained abandoned for extended periods of time, either attracting garbage and vandalism or becoming fenced off and unavailable for use by communities. Local resident Liz Christy co-founded

1080-494: The installation of window-hanging gardens and offering education on their construction, installation, and cultivation. In 1984, the Green Guerillas distributed a newsletter, worked with more than a hundred community groups, helped them to strategize and organize, provided information about plants and garden design, and donated tens of thousands of dollars in plants, according to the Christian Science Monitor . In 1986,

1120-544: The official map drawn in 1811 to establish the street grid that is still current. In those years, the Texas hero Sam Houston , for whom the street is sometimes incorrectly said to have been named, was an unknown teenager in Tennessee . Also mistaken is the explanation that the name derives from the Dutch words huis for house and tuin for garden. The narrow, westernmost stretch of

1160-400: The past few years I've seen three different men carried out of there dead, from alcohol or exposure or whatever. And children played in there with all that glass and filth." Though her employer died before work started, Christy went forward with the plan in 1973. She advertised a garden meeting, posting signs around the neighborhood in multiple languages, and recruited volunteers to both work on

1200-470: The preservation of about 500 gardens and plans to turn other lots into housing. While urban farming was not a new phenomenon, the grassroots reclamation of abandoned, derelict lots for gardens proved a popular concept. The Green Guerillas have been credited with beginning the community garden movement and popularizing the idea of guerilla gardening , which became an international practice. In an article for Nature and Culture , Colette Palamar used

1240-549: The space and to raise funds for equipment, supplies, fencing, and insurance. After the city denied the group permission to work on the project, they proceeded outside of official channels. Members of the community removed the accumulated trash, hauled in soil, and developed the space into lots for vegetable gardens . After working through the spring, they opened the first handful of plots for planting in May 1974. As work continued and interest grew, volunteers tried to convert as much of

Liz Christy Garden - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-503: The space as possible into gardening plots. That year, they secured a $ 1 per month lease from the Office of Housing Preservation and Development under the name "Bowery Houston Community Farm and Garden". A 1974 New York Daily News article about the garden said that "they have not only brightened up the corner with flowers and greenery, but have also provided many low-income families in the area with their own fresh produce all summer". Christy

1320-531: The starkest of cityscapes. Now they work the system". The leases the city typically used for the gardens allowed them to be removed at any time, with thirty days' notice, and ninety gardens were destroyed in the city between 1984 and 1999. Most of those were under the Rudy Giuliani administration. As mayor, he prioritized the privatization and development of public land. In January 1999 alone, 114 sites where gardens existed were put forward for auction. In response,

1360-523: The street serves as SoHo's northern boundary; another, narrower neighborhood north of Houston Street is correspondingly called NoHo . In 1971, Houston Street became the southernmost street in Manhattan to extend between both the Hudson and East Rivers, when the World Trade Center was constructed and deprived Fulton Street of that title. With the reconstruction of the World Trade Center , Fulton Street

1400-547: The year after Christy's death, the organization had 250 volunteers with an annual budget of around $ 82,000, which it received from donations, as well as from foundations, corporations, and state government. In addition to community gardens, the group assists senior centers, homeless shelters, schools, and other organizations. For example, they worked with homeless men at the Charles H. Gay Shelter on Wards Island to develop an accessible garden. One of their major activities remained

1440-546: Was especially happy with the interest children showed in the garden. That garden, the first and oldest recognized community garden in New York City, grew to be over an acre and remains active as of 2021, and was renamed the Liz Christy Garden after her death in 1985. The Green Guerillas went on to turn other derelict lots into gardens, working on 16 spaces in 1974 and 84 in 1975. A New York Times article about

1480-503: Was extended past Church Street to West Street , but is closed off to vehicular traffic west of Church Street . A reconstruction project rebuilt parts of the street between 2005 and 2018. As of 2024 , Houston Street is served by the M21 New York City Bus route from Columbia to Washington Streets westbound, and from 6th Avenue to the FDR Drive eastbound. The bus route itself had replaced an earlier streetcar line , which

1520-613: Was markedly widened from Sixth Avenue to Essex Street in the early 1930s during construction of the Independent Subway System 's Sixth Avenue Line . The street widening involved demolition of buildings on both sides of the street, resulting in numerous small, empty lots. Although some of these lots have been redeveloped, many of them are now used by vendors, and some have been turned into playgrounds and, more recently, community gardens . Lower Manhattan's SoHo district takes its name from an acronym for "South of Houston", as

1560-455: Was serving in the Congress. Bayard cut the street through a tract he owned in the vicinity of Canal Street in which he lived, and the city later extended it to include North Street , the northern border of New York's east side at the beginning of the 19th century. The current spelling of the name is a corruption: the street appears as Houstoun in the city's Common Council minutes for 1808 and

1600-657: Was the first winner of the American Forestry Association's Urban Forestry Award. In 1985, the garden was renamed in Christy's honor upon her death due to cancer. In 2002, it became one of the protected community gardens by law. In 2013, it was included in the Bowery Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places . The garden feels like a private place despite the din of traffic with

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