Abrons Art Center Community Garden

As New Yorkers move through the pandemic, public parks and green spaces have become increasingly vital places of refuge and connection. The transformation of the Abrons Art Center Pitt St. plot into a communal garden is a small effort to balance the wellbeing of the community and urban ecosystem, in the midst of the scheduled demolition of East River Park, which will effectively deprive the Lower East Side of accessible green space by killing 1,000 trees and eradicating the compost yard, lawns and recreational areas. 


For the past 46 years, Abrons Art Center has been a cornerstone of the Lower East Side arts community, providing accessible arts programming, artist opportunities and educational courses. At the onset of the pandemic, Abrons transcended its role as an arts organization, blossoming into a vital community hub with a community fridge and food pantry that serves over 750 community members per week, operating out of the historic Playhouse Theatre. Our intention in building a garden is to cultivate community, learn about plants and grow produce that will end up in the Abrons community fridge, free and for the taking. 


By donating, you’ll provide necessary funds for laying the groundwork for our community led garden project, which includes  purchasing  build materials for raised beds,  top soil, gardening tools, seeds, irrigation supplies, PPE and food for volunteers.  Let's bring more public green space back to the Lower East Side. 


Thank you and please share!
- Hannah Sklar and John Grund

Illustration by John Grund



For more information contact: [email redacted]