brief chronology

A brief Chronology of The Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial  Garden

1985-2007

West 122^nd Street  btw AC Powell & Frederick Douglass Blvds

● 1984-85: Joseph Wilson & his upstairs tenant, Cindy Nibbelink, make preparations for reclaiming an abandoned portion of land across & down the street from 210 West 122^nd Street where they reside.  The land has been overtaken by drug sales, drug use, prostitution & illegal dumping.  Several neighbors on the block (of the relatively few inhabited buildings on the block at this time) agree we should make a garden.

●1985-86: The clean-up begins; by now we’ve contacted “Operation Greenthumb” and the City Volunteer Corps and have gotten the necessary forms filled out by CB 10. The Corps youth help design the garden; Greenthumb provides start-up materials. Neighbors pull together with the youth and the garden is in bloom!

 

●1987: Haja Worley, whom Cindy has met at Malcolm_King College, offers his assistance.  Haja has ties with other community-concerned groups. Haja with neighbors Billie Whitehead, “Artie” and “Rallie” as well as neighborhood youths and CVC’s, brings the garden alive with trees, shrubs, a huge variety of vegetables and more.

 

●1988: Project Harmony and the garden receive the first of many awards: the $1000.00 Big Block clean-up Award from “We Care New York,” a foundation directed by Emory Jackson.

 

●1989-1999: The garden flourishes (details in extended chronology).  Another garden is begun on vacant land overtaken by illicit activities near the corner of 122^nd & 8^th Avenue.

The Giuliani administration destroys the “corner” garden (known as the “George Brown Memorial Garden”), although we’ve been told it will be saved.

 

●1999: One-half the Wilson Garden is bulldozed.  It now comes to light that two non-contiguous portions of the Wilson Garden have a “titular owner.”  Project Harmony works very hard to make contact with this “titular owner,” as he/she is called by the then NYC Dept. of Real Properties.  Eventually we learn that the property has been sold into a “Tax Lein Trust,”i.e., liquidator, for many years’ non-payment of taxes.  Real Properties gives P.H. the name and phone # of the liquidator’s agent.  Project Harmony calls the liquidator, who confirms the name and address of the “titular owner,” one Alix Saget, of Flushing, Queens.  The liquidator agrees to be in contact with Project Harmony, and agrees that if he/they hear anything from Mr. Saget (re whether or not he will agree to pay back taxes—which amount to slightly more than $40.00 per quarter—in all about $3000.00  (per lot) dollars:4 quarters per year=c. fifteen to eighteen years of back payments).

 

About one month before the federally-required 6-month period is up (time Saget is given to pay), Saget (who by now we know owns a number of properties elsewhere in Harlem, Brooklyn, and Queens)  agrees to pay back taxes. The liquidator notified us of same; the liquidator gives us Saget’s phone number at the time, and we proceed to contact him, offering to purchase the property.  He neither agrees nor disagrees, but asks for “our lawyers “ to contact him.  We have attorneys from NYC Environmental Justice Alliance and at least two other organizations contact/write him, at his request.  He never responds in writing.  One of our board members pays to have the land appraised in ’99 and offers Saget an amount above the appraised value.  Saget maintains he “wants it to be a garden,” but is not willing to sell.

 

●2003:  In December of 2003 Project Harmony receives a letter from Saget Attorneys Katsohris et al requesting $5000.00 per month rent or get off the land immediately.  Antonia Bryson of NY Environmental Lawyers writes back that since “Project Harmony occupied the land openly and notoriously for over seventeen years with Saget’s knowledge he has no right to lay claim or request rental payments.”  By this time NYLPI has also engaged an attorney from Dechert to work with us. 

 

We hear no more from Saget or his attorney.  Shortly thereafter we learn that Saget’s son, Alix, Jr. has been indicted on real estate fraud; several others involved in the scam are sentenced to 20+ years prison time.  It’s very clear from all we read from the Brooklyn DA’s office that Saget, Jr. is guilty, but he gets off with no time.

During this period Saget again lapses on taxes—by now we’re computer savvy & we follow Dept. of Finance records.

 

● 2006: We note Saget has begun paying taxes again.  Project Harmony, with help from NYLPI, succeeds in getting Steven Vollins, Esq., from Belnap Patterson et al.    Vollins is very attentive & familiarizes himself with the garden, its history, etc.

The garden flourishes with all programs as detailed in extended chronology;

Haja Worley organizes the first Harlem Gardens Tour which occurs August 26, 2006.

During the tour, we overhear Greenthumb Director Edie Stone say to a tourist that the “titular owner” is “snooping around.”

 

● 2007: A highly successful summer of growing, garden projects & programs: Greenthumb helps out in early spring by providing us with new back and [east] side fencing, as well as pruning of our glorious stand of mature trees. A generous neighbor donates $ for two outstanding rare dwarf Japanese maples.

The second annual Harlem gardens tour is on August 18^th—culminating with a cook-out at the Harris garden further uptown.  A major success.

 

●August 20, 2007:  Projct Harmony receives a phone call from a Long Island surveyor—Joseph Nicoletti, telling us they want to survey “2 vacant lots on 122^nd street in preparation for a closing.”  We are alarmed, contact Greenthumb and our attorney Steve Vollins.

 

Edie Stone, Exec. Director of Greenthumb replies that “we[GT] probably can’t keep Saget fom selling the property, but we can most likely prevent anyone from building on it.

 

●August 23, 2007: We contact our good friend and envir. Attny Leslie Lowe & ask how should we proceed re the survey.  She advises we ask for everything in writing and then proceed to allow the survey.  We follow her advice.

 

●August 28, 2007: We receive a letter from Katsorhis, Saget Attorney, not from the surveyor, requesting the survey.  Attached is a 2006 letter addressed to Parks Commisioner Benepe, saying that Saget wants to get in to the garden to “fence off” his portions.  Project Harmony had not ever been aware of this before; our attourney  supposes Parks didn’t take that “threat” too seriously.  Our attourney, Vollins, contacts Greenthumb and they do take it seriously; Vollins sets up a meeting with Greenthumb, their Counsel, Project Harmony and himself.  Our desire is to work in concert to resolve this matter.  We (PH) have scheduled an Oct 4^th survey.

 

In the meantime, our 122^nd Street block association and hundreds of our supporters hear of the garden’s predicament.  Gardeners and supporters rally round, writing their own letters asking for help from celebrities, community leaders and politicians.  Over the years, parents have appreciated the safe haven the garden has provided for their children.  Many others have attended any of a number of our concerts, community affairs, etc., and are deeply appreciative of this small green oasis.

 

●September 20^th, 2007: We meet with Greenthumb—a productive meeting.  Their attourny, Mr. Singh, seems genuinely to have the gardens’ interests in mind.  He proposes a “land swap” in which the titular owner would receive land elsewhere

in exchange for the garden property.  This would seem a win/win for all, in that the garden would remain intact and Saget would have property at once buildable, saleable, and not tied up in litigation.

 

●October 3, 2007: PH contacts Nicoletti to confirm survey appt.  They cannot make it at scheduled time so survey is postponed until  October 15, 2007.