"9/11 Memorial Garden" On W. 105th: Overgrown Or Natural

Outside 319 West 105th (NY1)

Building residents at 319 West 105th Street are fighting with their landlord to keep a garden outside the building. According to NY1, the "large cluster of vegetables, herbs and flowers outside the apartment building at 319 West 105th Street are a lot more than just pots on the street"—they "represent neighbors who lost their lives as a result of the September 11th terror attacks."

Resident Takeo Lee Wong explained that the garden was started in memory of a former neighbor, who had worked in the toxic dust of Ground Zero and moved away after developing a brain tumor ("She just packed up her stuff and went somewhere to die"). However, the landlord, Joseph Franco, didn't think the garden was cut out for his building anymore, "Regardless of the fact that it is a memorial, Franco says the garden has overwhelmed the front of his building and is unmanageable."

The garden is supposedly being removed today. One tenant lamented, "Its only in New York City that something as beautiful as this would be considered a nuisance."

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By Jen Chung in Arts and Events on August 20, 2010 3:14 PM

Comments [rss]

David

I used to live across the street, and I never thought the garden was out of control. More often than not, I would see a few of the neighbors tending to the plants, which I thought was a cool thing.

zincink

I am sure he has enough money to hire someone to take care of it. Maybe someone will erect a giant toilet in his honor when he passes away.

It is just a fact that nobody cares until it happens to them..