The mainly Spanish-speaking residents of this neighborhood began developing this narrow lot in 1989 to create not only a working garden with planting beds, but also a play area equipped with a tire swing – where children can interact with the outdoors in a safe and engaging way. The 2,500-square-foot garden continues to provide much-needed green space in a mostly commercial neighborhood that saw the only other garden plot on the block acquired in 1998 as part of an industrial redevelopment plan.

A blossoming oasis of perennials, flowering shrubs and trees, this patch of green also features a variety of vegetable and ornamental plantings – many of which, including a green wall of hibiscus shrubs located along one side of the garden, are plants native to Puerto Rico. In addition, the garden includes a casita – a structure common to Puerto Rican gardens that includes a small porch for community activities and storage space – which is used by neighborhood residents for games of dominoes, cookouts and other gatherings.

To help ensure the garden continues to serve as an active green space and engages local residents for years to come, New York Restoration Project (NYRP) staff and horticulture crews work with community members to remove trash and provide ongoing maintenance, building assistance and plant material for the garden – including wood for raised planting beds, gardening tools, compost and vegetable seedlings.

The Williams Avenue Community Garden serves a neighborhood whose residents are primarily of Hispanic and African-American descent and is tucked along a quiet street of single-family homes, surrounded on all sides by the industrial East New York section of Brooklyn.