Comedian Takes Earth Seriously, Saves City Plots;
Gardens On NYC Land Were On Block
Till Bette Midler Raised Fuss And Funds
By Sharon L. Lynch

Singer Bette Midler teamed with conservation groups Wednesday to keep the New York City from auctioning off 115 city-owned lots that residents had transformed from trash-strewn eyesores into lush gardens.

Midler contributed $250,000 of her own money and got others to put up $4 million more to buy all the gardens, said Roberta Greene, a spokeswoman for the New York Restoration Project.

The lots had been slated for sale Thursday, before Midler, the New York Restoration Project and the Trust for Public Land stepped in. Midler started the New York Restoration Project in 1994.

"We're thrilled. This is a joyous occasion and means that these gardens will stay in perpetuity," Midler said. "Today, I'm prouder than ever to be a New Yorker."

The community gardens began springing up in New York about 25 years ago, when residents tired of the trash-strewn lots and illegal dumping grounds scattered around the city. They cleared out broken bottles and rusted-out cars, replacing them with pansies, petunias, collard greens and corn.

Then, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani decided he wanted the property back on the tax rolls and that the city shouldn't own so much land.

The gardeners first tried to prevent the auction, testifying at hearings and subjecting themselves to arrest at protests. One man dressed like a sunflower, climbed a tree outside City Hall and demanded a meeting with the mayor.

The gardens are as diverse as the gardeners, capturing neighborhood character. One in Queens was photographed recently for National Geographic; another in Harlem looks to yield vegetables this summer for meals at soup kitchens.

Olean For, a 78-year-old gardener who has worked her little community plot for more than 20 years, said her phone rang all evening with the news. She was too tired to attend the impromptu parties being thrown together because she has spent the last several months trying to save her endangered green space.

"Don't you think they did it pretty good?" she asked of the deal, adding that it will take some time to plan her own celebration.

Deputy Mayor Randy Levine called the sale a "win-win for everybody."

"This is right in the area where we expected to be if this went to public auction," he said.