A community garden in Ridgewood that was developed two years ago has now been told to leave due to exclusionary practices – part of a neighborhood spillover of the war in Gaza.
“If I had known this would happen, I would not have advocated for this garden,” said Christina Wilkinson, a local resident who helped secure an undeveloped corner of Grover Cleveland High School’s athletic field for a community garden. Its creation was the result of a 2008 settlement between the state and city regarding the operation of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. Through a public engagement process, residents from neighborhoods in the Newtown Creek watershed voted to award funding for stormwater management to undeveloped parcels that could be used for gardens and parks.
“I mentioned this corner to the City Parks Foundation, and it then went to GreenThumb. I was glad that it was happening,” she said.
Wilkinson is a longtime activist in various neighborhood causes including the Newtown Historical Society and the Juniper Civic Association, both of which promote quality of life in her corner of western Queens. Shortly after the corner of Onderdonk and Willoughby Avenues was assigned to the Sunset Community Garden, she sensed that something wasn’t right in the way the group ran the space.
“I was getting this sense that they were a little disorganized. ‘We don’t want a hierarchical structure,’ they said. They were starting committees that weren’t meeting. I stepped back and followed them on Instagram. There was a sense that this wasn’t heading in the right direction.”
With each post, Wilkinson noticed that the content was no longer about horticulture but advocacy for leftist causes. “Instead of photos showing flowers and events, I started to see Palestine stuff. What does this have to do with gardening? It was very political. They hate the police, and they hate Israel.”
Wilkinson, who is Catholic, felt these postings excluded people based on their views and identities. Sara Schraeter, a teacher whose cousin was killed by Hamas gunmen at the Nova Festival, wanted to join the garden shortly after it opened.
“I thought I could bring my kids to it, but we can’t. My friend around the corner is Israeli; we thought we could get involved. I spoke to them on Instagram and was blocked. It’s not a public account anymore. They were hosting all these things for Gaza,” she said.
Last September, Wilkinson and Schraeter were interviewed by the New York Post, which reported on a ten-point pledge the garden required volunteers to sign. The pledge associated Israel with genocide and equated Zionism with forms of hate like homophobia, transphobia, and ableism.
Wilkinson also wrote to the Parks Department, raising concerns not only about the exclusionary statement but also about the group’s limited hours and secretive online presence. “I pointed out to Parks that you need ways for people to sign up, but if you’re not on Instagram, how do you? Then they put an email address on a sign. But elderly Asians and Spanish speakers aren’t on Instagram. It’s only for people of one interest,” she said. Her emails were shared with the gardeners, who then took to Instagram to share Wilkinson’s personal information. One transgender supporter cursed her out and made anti-white slurs.
“No other community garden is run this way,” she said.
Last week, a pride flag flew over the garden with notices urging supporters to contact the Parks Commissioner. They claimed the city was expelling the garden for installing an altar to a transgender activist and sought support from progressive elected officials. One supporter claimed Councilwoman Jen Gutierrez and Assemblywoman Claire Valdez were involved. Neither has issued a public statement about the Sunset Community Garden.
“I drove past and saw two people in keffiyehs filming. They’re not going to go quietly,” Schraeter said. Addressing the garden’s claim that they’re being expelled for transgender advocacy rather than discrimination, she said, “This is ridiculous. One doesn’t have anything to do with the other. They don’t want to understand what Zionism is. It’s a public garden, city property. It’s not supposed to be allied with any sect or denomination. They’re doing the opposite.”
Seeking to counter the garden’s social media campaign, Schraeter contacted a friend who runs Pens for Swords, a pro-Israel WhatsApp group. The group encouraged its nearly 1,000 members to write to the city. She is unsure if another gardening group will step up to maintain the parcel, given the threats.
“I’d like to see it become what it was meant to be, because not everyone in Ridgewood has a backyard,” she said. “It can be a great community-building space, but they’ve turned it into a private club.”
By Queens Jewish Link Staff
