Open Letter to Mayor Zohran Mamdani

Strengthen Gardener Voice in NYC Parks

In this letter, we call for formal advisory bodies, regular listening sessions, and transparent decision-making within NYC Parks. Community gardeners deserve a meaningful role in shaping the future of our city’s green spaces.

For more than 50 years, gardeners have stewarded these spaces, building food access, youth leadership, and neighborhood resilience across the five boroughs. Their lived experience and on-the-ground knowledge are essential to informed and equitable parks policy.

READ FULL LETTER HERE

Sign On for Stronger Community Gardens

Community gardens are essential public infrastructure in New York City. For more than 50 years, community gardeners have transformed vacant and abandoned lots into thriving green spaces that support food access, youth leadership, environmental stewardship, and neighborhood resilience.

Today, NYC community gardeners are calling on Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation to establish formal, transparent pathways for meaningful gardener engagement in citywide parks and green space policy.

We respectfully request the creation of advisory structures, listening sessions, and decision-making processes that include the voices of the communities most impacted by parks policy.

Add your name in support of this Open Letter.

SIGN ON

The Community Gardens We Protect

Why This Matters

  • 300+ community gardens across NYC, stewarding green spaces in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs

  • Led primarily by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, rooted in neighborhoods impacted by historic disinvestment and environmental injustice

  • Critical food access and youth leadership development, providing fresh produce, hands-on learning, and intergenerational programming

  • Climate resilience and neighborhood health, strengthening public health, sustainability, and community cohesion

  • Despite decades of impact and stewardship, community gardeners currently lack a formal role in shaping citywide parks and green space policy