This large, multi-lot garden encompasses 11,208 square feet and is a much-needed green space in a largely industrial area. In 1999, New York Restoration Project (NYRP) made the site workable by performing environmental remediation to remove toxins from the site. Since then, the garden has flourished with active community involvement – now serving as a fully-functioning green space for the enjoyment and benefit of the surrounding neighborhood.

As part of the 10th anniversary celebration of its Community TeamWorks Program, in 2006 Goldman Sachs provided NYRP with a grant to restore and endow McLeod’s Community Garden. Created to assist those in need in the communities in which Goldman Sachs employees work and live, the Community TeamWorks program promotes public service projects and volunteerism by partnering with local non-profit organizations. To prepare the site for renovation, piles of trash and debris were removed, whereafter NYRP staff members were joined by approximately 80 Goldman Sachs volunteers and neighborhood residents – all contributing many long and rewarding workdays to bring this garden’s full transformation to fruition.

Landscape architect Lee Weintraub was commissioned by NYRP to partner with the community and Goldman Sachs to enhance this beautiful space. Design features include gravel paths, vegetable and ornamental planting beds, a wisteria-covered gazebo in the garden’s center and an area in the back for grills and tables for food preparation and family-style dining. In addition, NYRP planted many beautiful trees and shrubs, including dogwoods that bloom in the spring, junipers that keep the garden green in winter and a grove of graceful river birch that accentuate the garden’s frontage. In September 2007, community members, NYRP staff and representatives of Goldman Sachs celebrated the restored garden’s opening with a neighborhood barbeque and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

During the growing season, the property is busy with neighborhood gardeners who produce a bounty of herbs and vegetables, including cabbages, tomatoes and collard greens. In addition, the garden features a pear and apricot tree, blackberry bushes, lavender beds and a variety of grasses and rose bushes. In 2008, NYRP construction and horticulture crews installed an irrigation system to further support the garden’s plantings and maintenance, including drip irrigation around the site’s many trees and perennials.

McLeod’s Community Garden’s large gathering space also makes it an ideal location for neighborhood school groups – including P.S./I.S. 332, the Charles Hamilton Houston School and P.S./I.S. 298, the Dr. Betty Shabazz School, both located just blocks away – to use the site for nature explorations and other educational activities. The garden is located in the East New York section of Brooklyn in a neighborhood whose residents are primarily of Hispanic and African-American descent.