History

Community Revitalization

• 10 years ago, 326 N. Sloan St. was an urban blight – drug selling, use, vandalism, abandoned bus, overgrown, litter ridden
• Community Members gathered man power and resources and created Sloan St Community Garden with the property owners’ permission and special support from Pennsylvania Presbyterian Hospital
• Home ownership/occupancy on the block doubled w/in 2 years of the garden’s formation 36.4% to 63.6%. Circa 1996
• 30 members, + families involved
• Beautification through mural by Mural Arts Program
• Informal donations of fruits and vegetables to local seniors
• Incorporated play & educational experiences for children
• Schools learned how to make their own gardens & sell produce at local markets giving children valuable business skills
• Safe, clean community gathering place that encourages care for the neighborhood
• 150 lbs of garden grown fruits and vegetables to City Harvest cupboard Caring about Sharing in 2009 season, and Ralston House in 2010
• Nearly 600 hrs of volunteer work in 2009 season
• Two founders are still members today… coaching our ranks ranging from 12-30 members each season.

Green Revitalization

Cleaner air, soil, water, and street.

• Trash removal
• Litter pick-up (less trash for the city to manage)
• Recycling of landfill bound materials from construction sites made into planters, stakes, and furniture (less trash for city to manage)
• Tree planting prevents rain water drainage runoff and pollution and cleans the air
• Soil testing and composting that monitors and removes poisonous heavy metals
• Attracts birds and encourages healthy ecosystem
  • Goldfinches, cardinals, woodpeckers,

Supporters, past & present

• Philadelphia Horticultural Society, City Green
• University City District, UC Green, Seth Budick
• Fairmount Park Commission
• Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
• Councilwoman Blackwell’s Office & Director of Zoning, Martin Cabry
• Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee
• People’s Emergency Center Community Development Corporation, Stephainie Wall & Paulette Adams
• Neighborhood Garden’s Association,Terry Mushovic,
• Mural Arts Program
• PECCDC identifies the garden as a key resource in the community and slates it for continued improvement and permanency
• Pennsylvania Presbyterian Hospital, Gary Ginsberg
• More than 200 neighborhood residents who the signed petition to preserve the garden
• Kickstarter backers

Bragging rights:

• Won or placed in PHS City Garden contest each time we’ve entered
• The garden earned one of twenty citywide “Growing Community Gardeners” grants.
• PECCDC identified the garden as a key resource in the community and slated it for continued improvement and permanency.
• 2010 West Philly Gardens Day participant & workshop presenter

Matter at hand:

• Land sold to a land developer at sheriff’s sale 2004 without proper 30 day public notice posting
• Terry Mushovic, from the Neighborhood Garden’s Association attended the sale and bid on our behalf, however the bidding went too high and Mr. Vousdoukas, a developer, bought the land
• Members, PEC, NGA & Zoning Director Martin Cabry pursuing Land Swap
• Have properties picked out through Land Trust
• Need support in writing however need to raise $ in the range of $5-$7000 for fees and possible difference in land values.
• Zoning Hearing for a single family unit on November 3^rd, 2009 was continued in promise of a land swap.
• On Wednesday, October 28^th, 2009 meeting with land developer, representatives from the PEC, Councilperson Blackwell’s office, and the NGA Land Trust. Several parcels of land were offered to land developer in exchange for the garden property, none of which he accepted.
• On Dec 21^st, 2009, Mr. Martin Cabry arranged a meeting between the land developer, Council Person Blackwell, and himself to persuade land developer to continue any zoning hearings and postpone his development of the garden land.
• On Dec 29^th, 2009, land developer agreed (at Marty Cabry and Council Person Blackwell’s behest) to postpone the zoning hearing indefinitely. On Dec 30^th, before the zoning board, it was made official.
• Early August 2011 a zoning notice was posted to put up a fence and build a three story house with off street parking.
• On August 22nd, 2011, a stake-holders meeting was held at Pennsylvania Presbyterian Medical Center to discuss the developer’s plans and negotiate more time for the garden to move. There is an agreement between Councilwoman Blackwell’s office, Pennsylvania Presbyterian Medical Center and Sloan St Community Garden that if the developer gives us one more year to move (till summer 2012), that we may not block his development when he builds at the deadline. Penn Presby’s legal team will be drafting the document to make the agreement legally binding.
• On Oct 20th, 2011, a stake-holders meeting was held at Pennsylvania Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) including PPMC’s Assistant to the Executive Director and a representative from their legal team, representative members of the garden, a representative from the People’s Emergency Center, the Zoning Director from Councilperson Blackwell’s Office and the developer. At this time parties agreed to a start build date of Novemeber 15th, 2012, before which the developer agreed to give us 2 weeks notice to vacate.
• Garden members then sought signatures from the neighborhood to support the agreement and prevent building before the season was out.
• In January of 2012, the Zoning Board approved the developer’s plans. Garden members presented the agreement during the hearing, and the board told us they had no authority to uphold the agreement between the stakeholders and that our only course of action if the agreement was broken was to hire a lawyer.
• In the spring of 2012, two veteran garden members were able to negotiate our expansion to land belonging to the Greater St. Paul United Church at 3826 Haverford Avenue. The Church is allowing us in trade for upkeep of their grounds, participation in some of their events and garden education of their membership, a few plots for a pilot year. THANK YOU TO BOTH THE CHURCH AND THOSE MEMBERS KEY IN THIS AGREEMENT! This space has since split from Sloan St.  to work more closely with the church.
• PPMC has been a very generous host and enabler for the garden (and the Saunder’s Park Neighborhood) and will allow us to move the entirety of the 326 N. Sloan St garden to their side of the property while continuing to keep contact with the developer.
• August 2012, informed that PPMC will have 326 N. Sloan Street property appraised.
• After pressure from developers on the zoning board to decrease community’s right to preserve their neighborhood, zoning laws changed dramatically in august 2012, leaving SSCG powerless to hold onto the land we toiled for over ten years
• The developer instead of allowing us to purchase the land, sold it to New Age Realty… Who in their greedy vision, designed a 3 story monstrosity overshadowing the entire block, so they can charge ivy league renters over $2,000 a floor
• After a summer of rescuing baby birds displaced from chainsaw felled trees, repairing damaged beds and mourning lost ecosystems… We have moved forward, with a renewed dedication to improving the growing space we have.
• please email sloanstcommunitygarden@gmail.com.

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