Amid climate threat, community gardens improvise
From tomatoes and eggplants to corn and callaloo, the Rainbow Garden of Life and Health on Melrose Avenue seemed to have it all figured out when it came to urban…
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…