Fishtown: Neighbors Unite for Community Garden

Saturday morning, despite threatening rain clouds overhead, neighbors on Crease Street in Fishtown ventured outside armed with card tables and gently used clothes, books, kitchenware and miscellaneous odds and ends. “Will anyone drink coffee if I make a pot?” asks resident Keith Mickelberg to neighbors who were gathering outside for the first sidewalk sale to benefit the Crease Street Garden.

Today, the neighbors appear to be a close-knit group of old friends, but this was not the case just a few months ago. For over a decade, the lot occupying 1236 and 1238 Crease St. was a dumping ground for old bricks and construction equipment that had become overgrown with weeds. “There was a van parked there, with whatever other nefarious activities going on there,” says Matt Kilcline, who moved to Crease Street last fall.

“It became apparent that the property was city owned and would be available for public use through the city’s garden lease agreement program,” Mickelberg explains. “Several neighbors met and decided that it would be a good project to both form a community effort around and add to the quality of life for the people in the area.”

The first step in transforming the abandoned space was cleaning out the debris that had accumulated over the years. “In the spring I got more involved with cleaning it out. We filled an entire dumpster to the top with 10 cubic yards of brick,” says Kilcline. The early work involved extensive digging and the removal of old bricks and construction equipment, according to Mickelberg.

Although nearly everyone participated in the “grunt work,” according to Annette Heagy, many neighbors have also contributed in other ways. “I tried to get other neighbors involved and other kids on the street involved,” Heagy says. Stephen Kesner helped out with the organizational side of things. “I’ve been helping with getting the website operational and creating mission statements,” he says.

Randy Cowels acquired a lot of the plants that are currently in the garden. “Since I had time on my hands, because I was laid off, it was easy to spend the time searching for the cheapest plants around. And then it was a collective effort to get them in the ground,” he says. Cowels touches on what the neighbors feel is the most significant aspect of the project: the collective effort.

“We’ve all learned how to work with each other,” Mickelberg explains. “We’ve been through some of the growing pains of coming up with common ideas around what everyone wanted to see the garden be.” Heagy also sees a difference in the community. “People are already coming together more. We’re having a sale today, as a group. People go into the garden and ask questions and interact with each other more than they did before,” she says.

Residents who are new to the area feel that being a part of the community project has helped them integrate into the neighborhood. Kesner, who moved to Crease Street a year ago, says that participating in the project “gives you a chance to really know your neighbors and build trust with your neighbors. In the city that’s a rare thing.” Kilcline moved to Crease Street last fall, and he agrees that the most important benefit of the project has been becoming better acquainted with his neighbors. “For me, the biggest thing is just working with some of my neighbors,” he explains.

Desnouee, who has lived on Crease Street for nine years, says, “We more naturally started friendships with people who moved here later because Fishtown is so tightly knit and people have really been here a while, but the garden has helped the kids connect and through that, the parents have connected.” Desnouee took charge of building a children’s garden to help them get involved. “We used some tree branches to build a tee-pee and we planted some beans and peas and hopefully they’ll climb up the tee-pee and make a little spot for the kids to be in,” she says.

Today, the garden is about to blossom into an urban oasis. The open space, lined with almost-ready-to-bloom bulbs, features lush greenery and the sculptural children’s garden as its centerpiece. Mickelberg says, “Everything that we have used in the garden is about 90 percent reclaimed.” Kilcline also helped install a rain barrel system for watering, adding to the garden’s environmental friendliness. Although there is no long-term plan for the garden yet, residents agree that simply keeping a green space for public use is beneficial enough to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, legal issues may prevent the residents from maintaining the garden.

Under an Urban Garden Agreement, which is a part of Mayor Michael Nutter’s Greenworks Philadelphia initiative, community members can lease unused properties from the city for community use on a yearly basis, for up to five years. Cowels has been actively involved with the politics of the project. “Simply trying to get the city’s lease has been an ongoing struggle,” he says. Although Cowels signed a lease last December, the city has yet to sign it.

According to Philadelphia’s Office of Housing and Community Development, the Urban Garden Agreement program is currently under review and on hold until new guidelines are established. Residents who have gotten involved with the policies surrounding the lease are focused on securing the land for future use. “We really don’t need two more houses built there,” says Mickelberg. Even though the community members may only be able to keep the garden for a few years, they have not been discouraged from putting in their time, money and effort.

“In terms of what its done for the block it’s amazing. It’s only been two months of work and it’s just tightened us in a way that we’ve never been. It’s really solidified a lot of partnership on the block,” says Desnouee. “I’m already happy with it,” explains Heagy. “It’s been wonderful.” Kesner says, “It’s just a sense of an outdoors feel in the middle of the city.”

Community gardening has become a hot topic as a part of the green initiatives throughout the country. The American Community Garden Association (ACGA) lists nearly 2000 community gardens in its database and has compiled detailed research on its website. One study from New York University showed that the values of properties located within 1,000 feet of a community garden were significantly higher than those located in the same area, but just outside of the 1,000-foot radius. Another study by the organization Gateway Greening found an association between community gardening and decreased crime rates. The ACGA also highlights the increased sense of community created by the gardens like the Crease Street Garden.

While the residents of Crease Street realize that they might not be able to keep their garden forever, all of them agree that simply coming together as neighbors with a common goal has been a valuable experience. “I don’t really care what the space becomes,” explains Kilcline. “For me it’s just an outlet to get involved with neighbors and talk to people and do something kind of positive for the neighborhood.”

More information about the Crease Street Garden is available at creasestreetgarden.org.