Int 0522-1999

Be it enacted by the Council as follows: Section one. Declaration of legislative findings and intent. The Council hereby finds and declares that there are many communities in the five boroughs of New York City which have limited open space and are underserved by traditional park land. New York City has one of the lowest open space ratios for residents of any metropolitan area: 2.5 acres per one thousand residents. Thirty-three of the city's fifty-nine Community Districts do not even meet these meager standards. Community groups have responded to the dearth of open space by developing greenthumb community gardens in city-owned vacant lots and trash-strewn spaces that have been neglected. Neighborhood volunteers have contributed considerable effort to make greenthumb community gardens a vital component of neighborhood quality of life. Community gardens have a long history dating from the 1800's when gardens first appeared to reduce economic and social discomfort in difficult times. The concept spread rapidly throughout the United States and took a firm hold in New York City. In 1978, the City's Department of Parks and Recreation began to coordinate a citywide greenthumb community garden program. By the 1990's there were over 500 greenthumb community gardens throughout the five boroughs. Today, there are over 700 successful greenthumb community gardens in New York City. The Council further finds and declares that many of the interim agreements under which the department of parks and recreation provides technical assistance to greenthumb community gardens have run for as long as 20 years and have, therefore, created expectations on the part of the communities in which these gardens have flourished that they will continue to exist. While the greenthumb community garden properties that the city now proposes to auction have gone through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), in many cases the conditions underlying these land use reviews have changed in the 15 or more years since these land use reviews were completed. Thus, while there is a need to build housing and for commercial development in the City of New York, there is also a need to preserve successful greenthumb community gardens and to preserve as much open space as possible in communities which are underserved by park land. Greenthumb community gardens should be protected and incorporated into housing and economic development plans. �2. Section 384 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a new subdivision c to read as follows: c. 1. For the purposes of this subdivision. "greenthumb community garden" shall mean an interim use program functioning on any city-owned real property, with the provision of technical assistance by the department of parks and recreation, for the purpose of neighborhood beautification and the provision of community programming. 2. No city-owned real property in use as a greenthumb community garden on or before January 1, 1998 shall be sold or the title thereto otherwise transferred for a period of no less than one year from the effective date of this subdivision. 3. No city-owned real property in use as a greenthumb community garden on or before January 1, 1998 shall be sold or the title thereto otherwise transferred without prior joint review on a case by case basis by the affected community board, borough president and the council. �3. Severability. If any provision of this local law or application thereof is adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, and the remainder of this local law and the application thereof to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by such holding and shall remain in full force and effect. �4. This local law shall take effect immediately after it shall be approved by the voters at the next general election held after its enactment into law. ISP/aj LS #1383 02-22-99 ISP disc 1999B (A:LS1383) 3