An article in The Villager’s May 20, 1982, issue reported that many LaGuardia Place residents were continuing to oppose a new community garden near the corner of Bleecker St. running down the block toward W. Houston St., even as gardeners were beginning to prepare the plot for planting all types of vegetables. The issue was not the veggies, but the 8-foot-high, 170-foot-long and 42-foot-wide chain-link fence that had been erected around the garden. Many residents felt the narrow sidewalk strip left between the garden and the Grand Union supermarket would become a “muggers alley,” and would “make it easy” for ne’er-do-wells to hide. There was also concern about the police having access to the supermarket if something went wrong there. The garden remains there to this day, and was able to survive a threat of development by New York University in recent years.
Gabe Herman
