Garden Oasis Saved!
Assemblywoman Clark celebrates permanent open space
status of the Cambria Heights Community Garden

Assemblywoman Clark and Community Leaders (Pictured l. to r.) Assemblywoman Clark (center) with members of Community Board 13; Kelli Singleton, President, Cambria Heights Civic Association; Robert Jurgens (l. of ctr.); Joanne Morse (l. of Jurgens), Trust for Public Land; and members of the Cambria Heights Civic Association. (Photo Courtesy of Richard Hellenbrecht.)

Assemblywoman Barbara M. Clark (D-Cambria Heights) and community members celebrated the Cambria Heights Community Garden located on 227th and Linden Boulevard as a permanent open space. The City of New York recently transferred the parcel of property to the Trust for Public Land - a momentous occasion recognized by elected officials, community leaders and representatives from the Trust for Public Land with an official opening ceremony on Saturday, November 10, 2007.

"The garden, in fact, continues a decades-old heritage of farming since the property is the last remaining piece of a much larger farm still warmly remembered by the long-time residents of Cambria Heights. The property is an important link to a vital part of the history of Queens," said Clark.

Assemblywoman Clark, along with John Fussell and Robert Jurgens, long-time community garden advocates; Joanne Morse of the Trust for Public Land; Richard Hellenbrecht, Chair, Community Board 13; and Carmen Grau, former Chair of the Beautification Committee of the Cambria Heights Civic Association were acknowledged by members of the community for their service and dedication to seeing that the project reach completion. Assemblywoman Clark also received special recognition for her leadership in protecting the space for community use by obtaining $60,000 in state funding for the purchase of the property's fence and gate through the Community Capital Assistance Program (CCAP).