William A. Harris Garden is a .11-acre city-owned community garden in the Sugar Hill section of the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

neighborhood in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is located on the northwest corner of West 153rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. For nearly a century after surrounding lots were developed, this property remained untouched because it sat atop the route of the Croton Aqueduct that has provided water to the city since 1838. The aqueduct brought water to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

via the High Bridge, from there flowing through underground channels beneath

St. Nicholas Avenue __NOTOC__ St. Nicholas Avenue is a major street that runs obliquely north-south through several blocks between 111th and 193rd Streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The route, which follows a course that is much older than the grid ...

and Amsterdam Avenue on its way to the reservoirs of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

and

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The e ...

. In 1979, Sugar Hill resident William A. Harris (19212011) started a community garden in an empty lot at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 153rd Street. A native of

Bracey, Virginia Bracey is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. It is located next to South Hill, La Crosse, and Brodnax also in Mecklenburg County. The CDP had an estimated population of 1,554 in 2010. History Brace ...

, Harris relocated to New York after completing his army service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A 30-year veteran of the New York City Department of Sanitation, where he was a foreman. Harris encouraged local youths to volunteer in cleaning up the undeveloped lot. The William A. Harris Garden is a focal point for a community. As the years passed, Harris planted more and more, and the small corner soon turned into a green patch, eventually blossoming into a thriving community garden overflowing with vegetables and flowers. Currently managed by his daughters, the garden has become a community treasure. Neighbors and community members of all ages chip in to help plant, water, and care for the plants. Although the garden sits atop the city’s water supply, the water used for maintaining the garden comes through natural means by a tank that stores nearly 1,000 gallons collected from the rooftop of the adjacent Kinghaven apartment building. The tank was installed in 2011 by members and volunteers of Green Apple Corps, under the supervision of GROWNYC.

References

{{coord, 40.829676, -73.942091, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-NY, display=title Harlem Parks in Manhattan Community gardening in New York City

See also

References