Brook Park Community Garden, located on Brook Avenue between East 140th and 141st Streets, remains under construction after almost two years.
The project, funded with $884,000 from Borough President Vanessa Gibson and City Council member Diana Ayala, was originally planned to reconstruct the perimeter fencing, supply water for new fountains and pipelines, and repair portions of the sidewalks on East 141st Street.
Construction began in April of 2023 and was supposed to be completed in January 2024. But the discovery of an underground oil tank— left from when residential buildings occupied the space that is now the park— brought the project to a halt, pushing back the completion date. The tank was removed in accordance with DEC regulations, which included testing and monitoring of the soil for potential contaminants. The addition in 2025 of plans for a wheelchair accessible path added more time.
The delays are frustrating park users, community partners and workers.
“I can’t believe it takes almost three years to fix a park. Kids come there to enjoy their life, or else they would be on the street,” said Peter Vuceljic, an employee at Gio’s Pizza, who uses fresh basil, oregano, and peppers that Brook Park’s gardeners share with him.
“It affects the community because you lose members and volunteers,” said Danny Chervoni, head gardener and park manager. Half the park is closed for construction, while the other half is open.
In the bustling coop, chickens clucked a noisy chorus, and plants as tall as people flourished in raised beds. The Puerto Rican flag stands at the center of the garden.
The volunteer group that was founded in 1979 to help care for the park, Friends of Brook Park spearheaded clean-ups, launched the community garden, and more recently partnered with widely acclaimed Mexican restaurant La Morada to distribute food to the neighborhood—a commitment maintained to this day.
The Fieldston School has been volunteering at the park for a decade and had to be redirected during the lengthy renovation, Chervoni explained. That was a disappointment to Roy Blumenfeld, the director of Fieldston’s City Semester. “It was hard not to be here. And it was hard to see Danny struggle with the amount of work that it’s taken to bring this back into shape.”
The wheelchair accessible paths can’t be finished until hedges beside them are pruned, Chevroni said, adding that “Meanwhile, I’m bringing volunteers in and out but we can’t have any events yet because the place isn’t well kept.”
“One of the main functions of this project was that there was no water access to the park. For the whole decade before that, they were grabbing water from fire hydrants,” Blumenfeld pointed out. During construction, the water utility on the south side of the park became accessible.
Fieldston students resumed their volunteer work earlier in September.
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