Local interest in this space was intermittent until the Disney Company teamed up with New York Restoration Project (NYRP) and the surrounding community in the summer of 2004 to transform a formerly trash-filled lot into a green, multipurpose paradise. Over the course of 11 workdays, some 400 Disney VoluntEARS, NYRP staff and community members gathered at this 13,000-square-foot site to clear debris, paint new fencing, create and mulch garden beds, haul dirt and lay sod, and plant 30 trees and shrubs – including pin oaks, magnolias, dogwoods, crabapples and crepe myrtles.

These projects implemented a garden plan envisioned by acclaimed landscape designer Billie Cohen that includes a flower garden and pergola, playground and basketball court. The design –  one of several Cohen garden restorations on behalf of NYRP – was the product of many ideas presented at public discussions and meetings, where neighborhood groups and residents shared their thoughts regarding the site’s revitalization, made possible with the generous support of community leaders, including a significant contribution from City Councilmember Philip Reed.

As the result of these collaborative efforts, this re-invigorated space features a large lawn, tables and chairs under a wooden arbor and beds for vegetable and perennial plantings – including tomatoes, eggplant, basil and parsley. In the summer of 2007, the family and friends of Joseph Caplan generously donated playground equipment and funds to paint and complete the basketball court, and later that year, four Japanese Maples were planted on the site. Also in 2007, NYRP planted a 20-foot Japanese Umbrella Pine on the garden’s eastern border.

Since the garden’s restoration, several neighborhood institutions have become important partners in implementing programming in the 103rd Street Community Garden, including Hope Community – a nonprofit community housing organization dedicated to building better communities and enriching the lives of all East Harlem residents – and the nearby El Museo del Barrio and Museum of the City of New York. Residents from the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) East River and Carver Houses and other apartment buildings also participate in the property’s active community gardening group, which hosts frequent barbecues and neighborhood gatherings at the site.

The 103rd Street Community Garden is located in East Harlem and represents an important green space among a bustling, primarily Hispanic neighborhood that includes numerous schools, six NYCHA developments and many multi-story apartment buildings.