Left-Wing Community Garden in Queens With No-Zionist Policy Staves Off City’s Eviction Efforts — for Now

A community garden in Ridgewood, Queens, facing eviction for enforcing a strict no-Zionist member policy is refusing to go out without a fight. The New York City Parks Department revoked the Sunset Community Garden’s license in May after concluding its restrictive membership requirements violated city guidelines. The garden enforces a de-facto ban on Zionists by requiring members to sign a “statement of values” that condemns Zionism, homophobia, transphobia, and more. This week, though, the garden’s organizers filed for a temporary restraining order to stave off their ouster until a later date. The court granted their request, allowing them to stay at the plot until a July 17 hearing. The court will then hear arguments from both sides before deciding how to proceed. Garden leaders called the ruling “a lifeline for our community.” The decision by the court to grant the temporary restraining order does not necessarily speak to the strength or weakness of the garden group’s argument. State judges often grant the orders to preserve the status quo while a dispute plays out. The parks department responded to the development by chiding the garden group for continuing to “disregard” the rules upheld by every other community garden, “despite our repeated efforts to work with them,” a spokesman for the department tells the Sun. “Our goal has always been to ensure that GreenThumb community gardens are managed responsibly and remain open and welcoming for everyone, regardless of their background.”The group has also launched a Change.org petition calling on the public to “demand justice and the end to the wrongful termination of our license agreement.” Its leaders lament that they’ve been singled out by city officials for “honoring trans legacy, our no tolerance to hateful rhetoric, standing against genocide, and refusing to back down in the face of complaints from a politically connected, bigoted neighbor.” “The garden provides a critical source of fresh food, mental health support, education and social connection for seniors, immigrants, trans and queer siblings, trauma survivors, low-income families, and other communities,” the petition says. The Sunset Community Garden was first thrust into the spotlight last year when Ridgewood locals complained that the garden’s anti-Israel activism created a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli residents. In April, city officials notified the garden that it was violating city guidelines by forcing members to affirm the group’s “political and ideological” positions through the “statement of values” requirement. “Such litmus tests as a barrier to membership are not permitted, regardless of the ideological content,” the department proclaimed.The garden, at Onderdonk and Willoughby avenues, was built with public funds by the parks department and an environmental nonprofit, GrowNYC. Community gardens in New York City are required to abide by anti-discrimination laws that bar them from excluding individuals based on protected characteristics like race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation. The organizers describe the garden as “a space for folks to connect with plants, the earth, community, and with themselves.” However, their laundry list of “community values” — as shown in a publicly accessible document — make the garden look less like a community greenspace and more like a social justice movement. The doctrine is rife with statements of solidarity for “oppressed and marginalized people” like those in “Palestine, Congo, Sudan, Hawaii, and Borikén, as well as with land and water defenders globally.” Locally, the group pledges to “uplift our community members that are the most oppressed within the bounds of capitalism and colonialism.” That includes members of the “Queer, Trans, Disabled, Chronically Ill, Femme, Poor, Immigrant, Refugee, Fat Bodies and Richly Melanated community.” Next, under “community agreements,” the garden calls on its members to “commit to interrupting violent behavior or rhetoric that expresses all forms of hate,” which, according to the group, includes “homophobic, transphobic, sexist, ableist, fatphobic, xenophobic, Zionist, antisemitic, nationalist and/or racist beliefs.” Other highlights include a community commitment to challenge “white supremacist values of perfectionism by acknowledging that mistakes are ok,” and encouraging “asking and giving for consent” when interacting with fellow members — for example, pausing to ask, “Hey is it ok if I vent about my weekend during lunch?”

Left-Wing Community Garden in Queens With No-Zionist Policy Staves Off City’s Eviction Efforts — for Now

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