Ralph-Lincoln Service Center Garden

Brooklyn Queens Land Trust member garden - The Ralph-Lincoln Service Center Garden was founded in 1984 by Robert Matthews and a group of community residents who were concerned about the blight in the then drug-infested northeastern part of Crown Heights. There were crack houses, open drug dealing on street corners, dilapidated and abandoned buildings, and trash cans overflowing with rubbish. Robert contacted the 77th Precinct Community Affairs Unit and solicited their involvement in cleaning up the area. The then head of the Community Affairs Unit, Sgt. Bullion, assigned P.O. Robert Manvella. Officer Manvella worked extremely hard along with community residents to keep the lot clean and to remove drug dealers from its corners. It was not an easy task, but with the help of the Community Board and the 77th Precinct, the community was gradually able to decrease the drug activity taking place near the lot. A gazebo was erected in the garden with the assistance of Officer Manvella, and grass and flowers were planted. In 2002, the garden began operating as an independent nonprofit organization, with the assistance of the Trust for Public Land, and was then transferred to BQLT. At that time, the garden received a new fence, the sidewalk was repaired, and a watering system was installed.

See https://bqlt.org/garden/ralph-lincoln-service-center-garden

A service of the Data Commons Co-op. The project has been supported by Equal Exchange, the Cooperative Charitable Trust, the USDA, and many others - thank you! Tech volunteers over the years include: Benjamin Bradley with support from GAIA Host. Ben Mauer with support from Quilted. Paul Fitzpatrick. Ronin Tech Collective, Brattleboro Tech Collective, Sligo Computer Services. Jason Lemieux. Default map tiles courtesy of MapQuest. Default map data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA.