Requires municipalities which sell, transfer or lease community garden real property to use proceeds therefrom for community garden purposes

4 Co-sponsors

• Ruth Hassell-Thompson
• Velmanette Montgomery
• George Onorato
• Diane J. Savino

Title of bill

An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to providing assistance for community gardens

Purpose of bill

The purpose of this bill is to help support municipal community gardens. This bill allocates a small portion of revenue generated by the sale, transfer or lease of such former community gardens and retains such funds for the continued support of local community gardens. The municipality may use the 10% of retained funds to purchase additional community garden lands, install capital improvements to other municipally owned community gardens, or to provide supplies and materials to support community garden activities.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1: Adds Agriculture & Markets Law section 31-j which requires that municipalities create an account, the "Community Gardens Account", to be funded with ten percent of the proceeds from the sale, transfer or lease of property that was used as a community garden. The fund would only need to be established if such community garden was sold, transferred or leased. The fund will be used for community garden programs.

Justification

Community gardens provide open space, recreation, and food production opportunities for thousands of New Yorkers and help to beautify communities. Most of these gardens were created through sweat equity by neighborhood residents who volunteered to clear abandoned lots and create and maintain green space for use by seniors, children, school groups, and summer camps. Many of the gardens have received honors and some have received national press attention.

Most of the gardens are located in communities where residents do not have yards or own a second home in the country where they could tend a plot of land. These gardens are often the only "park" on the street. Encouraging the maintenance of these gardens should help to bring nature to urban neighborhoods where the existence of nature is not self evident.

Gardens are also important for low-income citizens who, by working in a community garden, can become more self-sufficient by growing their own fresh produce. Further, money that would have been used to purchase food can be used for other needs. Some of the garden sponsors donate significant quantities of food to feeding programs to help others.

Since such municipality benefits from the sale of land (that was previously vacant and abandoned property) that had been transformed by gardeners, it is appropriate that some of the proceeds be reinvested back into community gardens. This bill provides support for the continuation of the proud tradition of hard-working urban residents taking the initiative to beautify and improve their city.

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the 180th day after it shall have become law.