Reclaiming Land and Building Community

The Secret Community Garden began as an act of resistance and imagination. In the early 2000s, a small piece of land in Loisaida or Lower East Side was threatened with development, part of a larger wave of gentrification transforming the neighbourhood. What appeared to the city as an “empty lot” was, for local residents, a living commons, a space of gathering, culture, and care.

As Board Chair, I helped to formally organise the garden into an association. We united residents, artists, and activists, creating a legal and social framework strong enough to resist private development. Together we joined a class-action lawsuit against the City of New York, challenging the displacement of community gardens across the boroughs. After years of collective pressure, our case helped secure protection for this site and others like it — a landmark victory for urban green space and environmental justice.

Art, Ecology, and Collective Agency

My role extended beyond governance. I raised funds for the garden’s development, designed pathways and fences, and helped turn the site into a model for participatory stewardship. Alongside the practical work of building, I co-led a creative collective that hosted community events, film screenings, and performances in the garden. These gatherings blurred the line between art and activism, planting seeds for a new kind of public culture rooted in belonging and collaboration.

For me, the project became a living artwork: a socially engaged sculpture built from trust, negotiation, and shared care. The garden was not just a green space, but a cultural space, an evolving performance of community resilience.