Tour

GreenHomeNYC Spring Tour: MiMA Tower and the Clinton Community Garden

May 18, 2013 10:00 AM - 12:15 PM

• Where: Meet in front of MiMA Tower: 450 West 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) 450 West 42nd Street New York, NY 10036
• Hosted by: GreenHomeNYC
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Join GreenHomeNYC for two special back-to-back tours of the LEED Gold certified MiMA Tower and the Clinton Community Garden.   MiMA Tower  Perfectly situated in the middle of Manhattan, MiMA’s meticulously curated blend of residences, culture and lifestyle offerings makes the development more than a building: MiMA is an urban destination.   Designed by one of the world’s leading architecture and design firms, Arquitectonica, MiMA is a 63-story glass wall tower featuring 50 floors of luxury rentals, 151 premium tower residences and a new 669-room Yotel. Also onsite, the all-new Pershing Square Signature Center provides three separate theatre and performance spaces designed by Frank Gehry.   With theaters, restaurants, clubs, parks, cafes, boutiques, cinemas and subways close, MiMA also offers over 44,000 square feet of amenities that range from sundecks and private screening rooms to an indoor lap pool, full-size indoor basketball and volleyball court and digital cafe. On floors 51-63, the ultra luxury rental residences at One MiMA Tower are designed to provide unprecedented levels of exclusivity, service and convenience.   The MiMA residential property’s LEED Gold certification reflects Related’s industry-leading commitment to sustainability.   Clinton Community Garden  In 1984, the Clinton Community Garden became the first community garden in New York City to be granted permanent parkland status. This was a big moment both for our garden and the future of community gardening in the city. The story of the garden, however, starts some seven years earlier when a group of residents on West 48th Street decided to do something about the garbage heap in the middle of their block. Abandoned for 28 years, the lot held the remains of two tenement buildings, rusted-out cars, and ever-growing piles of trash, and was generally a magnet for illegal activity in a neighborhood that had its share of crime and misery. But the neighbors spotted some wild tomato plants growing out of the rubble and saw a chance for something else.   The city-owned property was leased through Operation GreenThumb in 1979 and organized into two sections, a public front garden with a lawn and flower beds and a back area for individual plots. Over the next several years, the back garden was expanded from the west to the east, so that 108 garden plots were eventually created. Paths were built from salvaged brick, and fences and gates were put in to protect the garden and separate the public area from the plots in the back. Stone benches were made from recycled slabs of slate and concrete blocks. In the early days, the garden featured a geodesic dome for winter gardening, and a mural, the mirror image of the garden, was painted on the building wall on the west side. Traces of this mural, by Mallory Abramson, a prominent garden founder and leader, are still visible today behind the Native American bed. The open green space stood in miraculous contrast to the then nearly tree-less block, offering escape from cramped apartments. The few nearby parks at the time stood in disrepair. Hell’s Kitchen Park, around the corner, had plenty of asphalt, concrete, and pigeon droppings but little greenery.   Today this little spot of heaven is one of the most organized community gardens in the world.  It receives regular press from around the country, and when members are present, particularly on weekends, the garden is open to visitors.  Our tour guide will be Andy Padian, who has been a member of the garden for 23 years.   After the tour, guests are encouraged to expolre the 40th Annual Ninth Avenue International Food Festival which runs from 42nd to 57th Streets in Hell’s Kitchen.   Here’s the schedule: 10:00 AM – Meet in front of MiMA Tower: 450 West 42nd Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) 11:15 AM – Walk to Clinton Community Garden 11:30 AM – Clinton Community Garden Tour:  48th Street (between 9th & 10th Avenues) 12:15 PM – Tour Over: Proceed to the Ninth Avenue International Food Festival on your own  

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