Issue and Opponent: Due to the rising housing prices in New York’s Lower East Side / East Side Village due to their community gardens, Mayor Giuliani sought to auction off the gardens to city developers. This upset many of the city’s gardeners, and environmental activists. One particular garden, (El Jardin de la Esperanza) was in danger of being paved over in favor of constructing more apartment buildings.
Dilemma Action: The community of gardeners and their supporters began a “carnival” protest where gardens were located. Streets were filled with community events, and the media covered the festivities, raising awareness of the need to protect the gardens. Sit-ins and lock-ins were used by activists on the day of the planned demolition to prevent the garden from being destroyed, though many were arrested and detained. Close to 500 protesters participated in the movement.
Outcome: Despite having media sympathy on their side, the community was unable to prevent the Esperanza Gardens from being demolished. However, public sympathy for the campaign was rallied and this helped in preventing the destruction of other community gardens in the city. The Streets to Gardens festivities were part of a larger movement to save almost 500 community gardens that were to be excavated for luxury high-rise apartment buildings.