Smith Houses Garden Wins GreenThumb “Rookie of the Year” Award
On March 29 at The New York Historical on Central Park West, the Alfred E. Smith Houses’ Raising Haven Community Garden was honored by NYC Parks GreenThumb, the nation’s largest urban gardening program, with its 2024 “Rookie of the Year” Award. This special honor, presented as part of the 2024 GreenThumb Garden Recognition Awards Program, “recognizes a community garden group established in the past two to three years that has made an immediate and significant impact in their community.” Winning the GreenThumb Rookie of the Year award confirmed what Smith residents have seen happening in their community over the 12 months since the Raising Haven Garden was inaugurated: their dedicated gardening team has raised up a little bit of heaven right in their own community, bringing a priceless resource to the community that has earned admiration not just within but far beyond Smith Houses.
The Raising Haven Garden is just one leading example of the many new gardens that have begun blooming in NYCHA communities across New York City. Building on a partnership between NYCHA and the GreenThumb team, Smith Houses residents began work last spring building an extensive garden the likes of which few residents thought possible for their community.
Smith Houses residents began building their “Rookie of the Year” Award-Winning garden just last spring.
“When I come out of the resident association office, our new garden is just so beautiful to look at!” said Aixa Torres, President of the Smith Houses Resident Association. “It took a lot of hard work to get the garden going, but it has been so worth it – these gardens have brought our community together. The Raising Haven Garden really is NYCHA at its best, creating beauty and demonstrating real caring for the community, by the community. This garden really belongs to all of us here at Smith Houses. I am just so proud of the team who made it happen.”
“As a new Community Engagement Coordinator with GreenThumb, I am excited to work with the gardeners at Raising Haven Community Garden,” said Ashley Kuenneke of GreenThumb. “I loved seeing the photo yearbook they created showing how much love and commitment has gone into the space in just its first year, and I’m looking forward to supporting the garden as we move into the next growing season!”
Halloween at the Smith Houses Gardens was a festive occasion for the whole community.
The Smith Houses gardeners team is led by Chairperson Sheroly Jones, who is both a 40-year resident of Smith Houses and a 20-year veteran of the NYC Parks Department; Co-Chair Connie Almodovar, a 60-year Smith Houses resident; second Co-Chair Melissa Shephard; and Orvil Minott, a longtime NYC Parks professional who currently also serves as the Environmental Engagement Coordinator at Gotham Park, just a short distance from the Raising Haven Gardens.
“To serve my own community and help provide this service and this growth, to experience all the love that has bloomed through this garden – it has been amazing!” Ms. Jones exclaimed. “It’s so much more than just planting flowers. We have become more of a family. Raising Haven has become a place of love, a place where we can mentor our youth, where our older adults can come into a space of beauty that you just can’t turn away from. It draws you in! It is truly a magical garden, with all of what’s been possible to accomplish there – and it’s just our first season!”
“I love going there every morning,” Ms. Almodovar added. “I just go and clean the place every morning – it’s therapy for me. I just love to sit there and be in it.”
“We have younger people coming out, we have older people coming out – we are seeing three generations of Smith Houses residents all coming out to be together, and it’s a beautiful thing to see,” said Mr. Minott. “People who I never thought would care have taken a real interest in this garden. I truly believe that it has changed the mind of this community. The people really are more relaxed when they come into their garden…and I’ve also witnessed residents from other developments, folks who do not live in the neighborhood, come in from off the street to come visit.”
A young Smith Houses resident, Denise Almodovar, penned this poem, inspired by the Raising Haven Garden that is now part of her home:
The Garden
The sun’s rays flash on the iridescent pinwheel as it blows round and round
I see the leaves flutter and the long yellow daffodils stand at attention
The flowerbeds are blossoming! A haven in the midst of a concrete surrounding.
There’s beauty in the laughter in my neighbor’s song. The soil is rich. The leaves are green.
Water with love.
—
Established in 1978, NYC Parks GreenThumb sustains over 550 community gardens and supports thousands of volunteer gardeners throughout New York City.
The NYCHA Farms and Gardens team partners with GreenThumb to help build and support some of the resident-led gardens across NYCHA. There are currently 27 resident-led gardens that are part of the GreenThumb Community Garden at NYCHA partnership. You can learn more about GreenThumb, including free workshops open to all New Yorkers, by visiting their website.
NYCHA’s resident gardening application is available online!
Are you interested in cultivating green spaces at your development this year?
NYCHA’s Garden Registry Application is a one-page form that must be completed and submitted to your property management office for approval.
Download the application in English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese (traditional), or Chinese (simplified), or pick up a paper copy at your property management office. To sign up to receive updates on upcoming events and available support, including funding opportunities and support from GreenThumb and other partners, email the Farms and Gardens team at gardens@nycha.nyc.gov or call (212) 306-8282 and leave a message.
(Photos courtesy of the Smith Houses 2024 Garden Yearbook)