Gothamist: East Village Community Garden's Tower of Toys to Go

gardenchildren9094

Wed, 07 May 2008 14:33:13 -0500

first off the tower has no more stuff animals on it so i whould appreciated if you whould stop saying it smells cuz if you keep saying it smells you obviously know nothing. i've been a member of the garden since i was 2 i grew up there,the tower has always been there so if they take it down they whould be taking a part of my heart with it. the tower is a land mark every time i'm in the garden when people come in they always ask me about the tower and always tell me how much they like it!. and did you know that theres a tree in the middle of the tower and plants, flowers and kiwi vines do grow in side of it. so if you are one of the people who want to take it down and don't liike it you are clearly not from the LES and should go back to where you came from.

brooklynbee

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:18:11 -0500

Noooo! That and the Moondance used to be some of my favorite things in NYC, now they will both be gone. :(

FlameRetardAnt

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:15:08 -0500

BURN IT. We often forget the psychic health benefits of a good POTLACH. Really kids, if this thing is leveled by bureaucrats, cat ladies, and Jersey Contactors the gods will be sorely disappointed. (Pity it doesnt abut a new, highly flamable condo) Once again, to summarize. BBBUUUUUURRRNNNN IIIITTTT. FIRE GOOD.

Tgirl

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:22:58 -0500

its gross, and probably home to the rats who used to inhabit Tomkins Park before they (thank God!) cleaned that up. just because something has been around for a while does not automatically make it a sacred cow. Good riddence.

sonyactivision

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:20:07 -0500

Rebuild it with the abandoned IKEA furniture left behind by fleeing, busted out midwesterners.

emilydickinson

Tue, 06 May 2008 19:23:02 -0500

I agree that the stuff animals do stink to high heaven, but I'm not certain that structure is a 'death trap'. This is a hard line to toe, and it reminds me of the Broken Angel situation in Brooklyn. Overall, I agree with #4. Let the community use the space as they see fit. The crappy stuffed animal tower has been a landmark to me since I was a teenager, but maybe it's time to let a new generation build an awkward structure in the gardens.

maevemealone

Tue, 06 May 2008 18:57:14 -0500

an ex-boyfriend took me to this tower on a date, showing me his east village stomping grounds. I was all excited to see this amazing thing and when I opened my eyes to this, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. It's a towering pile of dirty rotten toys randomly gobbed on. Yay to the eccentric who got to spend years building it and I'm glad it survived past his lifetime, but time for the garden to go back to the community. I hope a lovely and fragrant patch of flowers grows in it's place.

SleepyM

Tue, 06 May 2008 18:03:21 -0500

I spent a lot of time in that garden as a teenager (they used to host a lot of poetry readings and plays and stuff, maybe they still do) and will miss the tower.

Papercutninja

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:59:18 -0500

YAY! now they can put a Shake Shack in that space. Now the Ohioans...sorry...East Villagers can have tasty tasty overrated treats instead of something native to New York!

hungryghoast

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:48:39 -0500

It's an awesome sight and definitely harkens back to when the the community had more penache. But as long as the garden stays and the community still gets to use it, I can't see much reason to complain. When the garden goes (like the Mendez Mural Garden once did and many others under Giuliani's bullshit) then we can say that the LES has truly died.

evidiot

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:38:24 -0500

Yes, we know, it's cute, it's quirky, the East Village is losing its character, yadda yadda yadda. But finally, this community garden can be turned into something the community can actually use, rather than being a deathtrap-waiting-to-happen.

janelle

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:33:55 -0500

no comment with regard to safety (or the smell) but this was one of my more memorable parts of living in alphabet city.

cncrocket

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:32:06 -0500

yes! awesome! fuck you new york! you are hell-bent on destroying anything interesting and idiosyncratic about yourself! well, at least now that new york is erasing hundresd of years of civic intrigue it leaves the door wide open for other cities to blow it out of the water. bleed the beast! death to new york!

AnnaZed

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:18:25 -0500

Thank GOD! what a dangerous rickety trap that thing has been for decades. Lord, the SMELL of those rotten stuffed animals used to permeate the garden and make it unbearable at times.