Casitas / Community Gardens
Location: all throughout East Harlem
Architect: Local residents; early 1930s to present
Through the casitas (Spanish for little houses), community gardens and murals, East Harlem residents have shaped and identified their neighborhoods by creating new meeting places and recreational spaces.
The wooden casitas, surrounded by lush gardens, remind many of the character of rural Puerto Rico. Sewing classes and fiestas sometimes occur in the casitas, representing the ingenuity of East Harlem residents in creating spaces to serve special needs of their community.
The roots of community gardens run deep in East Harlem —gardens are oases of vegetables, fruits, flowers and tranquility in neighborhoods where concrete otherwise rules.
They are the site for picnics, cookouts, birthday parties and other community gatherings, and are special places for residents of all ages, with and without green thumbs. Community gardens create a network of green spaces in the city in an unprecedented way.
In 1999, community gardens made headlines around the world. A consortium of greening organizations, private foundations and concerned individuals came together to rescue 114 community gardens that the City of New York had planned to auction. |
