Fighting For a Bronx Garden

Meg’s Garden, a green sanctuary, sits in the middle of auto shops, expressways, and train depots, on the 21-acre campus of the Dewitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Large plant beds filled with herbs and vegetables cover a section of the campus lawn. An edible forest of thirty-five fruit trees, full of persimmons and ground cherries frame the garden along the fence. 

“We are the first to witness the first signs of asparagus or, you know, when the goldfinches return at the same time and the sesame seeds are available to them,” said Raymond Pultinas, founder of the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center (JBOLC).

“All this stuff was not here. That garden was empty. There was nothing in there. He built it from the ground up,” said Beata, a Dewitt Clinton senior, who worked in the garden as an intern with Pultinas for two summers. “It’s a good opportunity to learn about a lot of stuff. Get more access to organic stuff that you wouldn’t usually get in my normal area,” she said. 

JBOLC started the garden in 2016 with students like Beata and local volunteers. They had the support of the four principals who run the schools in the Dewitt Clinton building and ran a regular farmer’s market selling produce to people in Bedford Park and the Van Cortlandt Village neighborhoods.

But in the spring of 2021 things changed. The principals, through their Clinton Building Council, decided not to renew the JBOLC’s  contract. They sent an email that said, “At this time, the Clinton Building Council…has decided to decline permission for you and the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center to host any events, or be granted any permits to be on Clinton Campus property, as we feel issuing this permit is not in the best interest of the campus or our students.” 

This was devastating to the community group and local residents.  A  neighbor Manuel Garcia said, “This is for the community. They grow vegetables here. They sell it to the community and it’s a great cause. They’re not doing no harm…It was like saying that Clinton doesn’t care about the community.”

Imaan, also a Dewitt Clinton senior and intern with JBOLC, said “It’s not fair to anyone, the whole community. They love this place. So, taking it away… it’s just not right.”

The decision shocked the JBOLC, who felt they had a responsibility to protect the garden for the community. “Outdoor education prepares students for a better life and a better future. We are those students. Each one of us,” said Pultinas. “We’ve done nothing wrong. We are protesting rude and inconsiderate decisions. We are defending the rights of this garden and community to exist.” 

Bronx City Councilmember Eric Dinowitz stands with the group and the market it runs. “We need to make sure the building knows, the principals know, the community knows how vital this is..this market, this garden, this space is for our community,” said Dinowitz.

But the Department of Education (DOE) backs the principals, so far, and their decision. DOE spokesperson Sarah Casanovas said the council decided that the garden would remain, “…temporarily closed until the school finds a new partner that will keep the area safe and usable for the school community.” She said,  “The group has failed to maintain the garden” and violated the terms of their agreement.

For now, no one is working in the garden, but Dinowitz continues to press the principals to reverse their decision. In the beginning of June, he arranged a meeting between the JBOLC, the principals, and the Deputy Chancellor of School Panning and Design. And that gave the center and the community hope.But nothing has changed, so far.