Lower East Side Community Garden 'Attacked,' Members Say

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Lower East Side community garden members are outraged after discovering trees in the space they'd lovingly tended for years had been cut down and plantings destroyed, representatives of the garden said.

Sometime between Wednesday, Apr. 3, and Sunday, plants at the Children's Magical Garden were damaged, said Dave Currence, a member and treasurer of the space. The garden is calling it an attack — alleging an unknown "trespasser" has "illegally" busted into the property, according to a Facebook post on Monday.

A meditation area and "pizza garden," where vegetables often used for pizza toppings are planted, was flattened in the area, located at 157 Norfolk St. between Stanton and Rivington streets, Currence said.

"It's heartbreaking," he said. "Now it's gone — and right at the heart of spring."

The portion of the damaged garden is technically owned by a developer, though the garden's members have been challenging that in a legal battle since 2014, DNAinfo previously reported.

Back in 2013, the former owner Serge Hoyda, with Norfolk Street Development LLC, built a fence around the area, citing safety concerns, and effectively sanctioning it off. That led to police being called as volunteers tried to halt development work, DNAinfo reported in 2013.

The land was later sold to Horizon Group, which currently owns it. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment Thursday.

The developer has previously intended to build a six-story building on the site, a Department of Buildings filing from 2014 shows.

Currence said no police reports have been filed about the damage. He said the garden's attorneys have contacted the developer's lawyers, but it remains unclear who is responsible.

"Nearly forty years ago, members of our community banded together to transform what was a blight to the neighborhood — an empty lot littered with needles and garbage — to a center of empowerment and programming for all children and families in the Lower East Side," Councilwoman Margaret Chin said in a statement.

"We refuse to give into any intimidation tactic that attempts to silence long-term residents into feeling unwelcome in their own community. As the Council Member representing the Lower East Side, I'm proud to do my part to support programs at the Children's Magical Garden, and I vow to work with Board members and volunteers to restore what was callously taken away from them."

Though property records show 157, LLC, associated with David Marom's Horizon Group, is the owner of the lot, Children's Magical Garden members have been fighting for full ownership in the courts through an "adverse possession" claim — in which someone can acquire a neglected property through using its space for a certain number of years. The claim is sometimes called squatter's rights.

The site was taken over by community activists back in 1985 — when it was neglected — and Lower East Siders revitalized the garden into the Children's Magical Garden.

The latest ruling was last summer, when judges determined the case had merit for the adverse possession claim.

At the time, Benjamin Burry of Sidley Austin LLP, the garden's pro-bono lawyer, said, "We are pleased with this decision, which prevents the destruction of this historic and beloved community garden and puts the Children's Magical Garden firmly on the path to proving its ownership of the property it built and maintained for more than 30 years."