In the midst of the bustle on Gun Hill Road has emerged an urban oasis — a new garden, right in front of the main entrance of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC). Teens in the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) have revamped what one participant called a “dirty, disgusting” plot into a thriving patch of greenery.
Employing 14 to 21 year olds, the Summer Youth Employment Program is a project of the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development. MMCC administers the program in this area.
SYEP members Xavier Johnson, 14, and Peter Jackson, 18, have been working on the garden since June for eight hours a day, four days a week. “I feel like this is my second home,” Xavier said. “We’re planting herbs, vegetables, a couple flowers. It’s hard work,” Jackson said.
The garden, which project overseer Leslie Alpert of the MMCC said was once “completely overgrown,” now has tomatoes, peppers, daisies, basil, arugula, and sage.
“We even have a butterfly that’s started to visit,” Alpert said. “This is an urban oasis.” Alpert expects it will take the better part of a year to finish the garden, since certain plants cannot grow in summer heat.
The community is generally thrilled with the garden, but Jackson says it will only stay beautiful with their help. “People have to stop littering so we can keep it clean,” he said.
“I hope people will respect that we’ve done all this work this summer and come by and look,” Xavier added.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.