La Casita de Chema Community Garden receives $415,000 in city funds
Willie Colon blasted from the speakers on Oct. 21 as City Council Member Rafael Salamanca allocated $415,000 of city funds to La Casita de Chema (Chema House) Community Garden, also…
A Melrose community garden that grows more than food
It was no April Fools on Saturday, April 1 when the Rainbow Garden of Life and Health on Melrose Avenue was surprised by yet another commitment of funds – $30,000,…
Vacant Melrose lot poses health risk, raises unanswered questions
A Melrose dry cleaner that closed in 1968 is now the site of a toxic underground mess that is rattling nerves in 2022. The fenced-in, grass-covered lot at 753 Melrose…
A model Bronxite: Lorean Valentin
“Who’s the most important person in the room?” Bronx native Lorean Valentin asks a group of eight women in their early 20s. “I am,” they respond in unison.
Garden activists bring ideals from Puerto Rico to Melrose
On a Sunday afternoon in March after a snowstorm, a lone figure in sweatpants, a fanny pack and a knitted gray plaid cap shoveled chunks of ice from the sidewalk…