By Jimmy Lawton

Gardens are growing on many West Side streets. Several lots on streets like West Utica that were vacant are now filled with flowers and bushes.

Jim Peval is the director of support services at City Hall and the chair of Keep Western New York Beautiful. He has been active in developing community gardens since 1975. He is also active in an organization called Grassroots Gardens, which works as intermediary between the city and the community to help create gardens.

The GRG obtains leases on these vacant city-owned lots for $5.00 a year then sub-lets them to locals interested in creating gardens.

Clubs that wish to receive grants must submit a proposal showing that they have

• an experienced gardener

• a plan for the garden

• enough people to weed and water the garden

Using these grants, West Side residents are cleaning up these areas and replacing the trashy plots with colorful gardens. The Atlantic-West Utica Block Club is one such group.

Bob Pedersen, an active member of the club, said that they received $1,500 from the GRG to restore the lot.

“We started two years ago. We drew up a proposal and took it to the GRG, we showed them that we had a real plan and enough help to maintain a garden.  They gave us, what was at that time the biggest grant they ever gave,” Pedersen said.

The grants help to start the gardens but the upkeep is the responsibility of the community members Pedersen said the club has spent an additional $2,000 on their garden.

Pedersen said the gardens have been beneficial in several ways

• brighten up troubled areas

• encourage residents to spruce up their home

• encourage more pedestrian activity

• gives a positive use to otherwise wasted land

Although the gardens have not directly caused an increase in property value, Pedersen said the gardens have probably had an indirect effect because residents have begun to fix up their own homes.

West Utica is not the only club cleaning up their street. Peval said there are at least 47 gardens in the city and that range from vegetable gardens to horticultural gardens. Peval said the gardens have helped to bring economic development to the city.

“I think the gardens were integral in bringing Buffalo Savings Bank on to Connecticut Avenue. Many of the gardens are purchased by businesses they make area’s more appealing to communities,” Peval said.

Currently the West Side Community is working on a garden center, which allows residents to swap plants.  Peval said this center will bring communities together and expand the usefulness of existing gardens.

Contact Jimmy at Ripbrutus@hotmail.com