Bulldozers and Chainsaws Arrived This Morning To Illegally Destroy a Beloved East Harlem Garden to Make Way for Luxury Housing.

All morning, as Nueva Esperanza Garden on East 110th Street at Fifth Avenue has being illegally destroyed, NYPD helicopters are circling the area and the police are assembling off site, preparing to enter the garden to make arrests. Gardeners have chained themselves to the garden and climbed trees, stating their willingness to get arrested to save their gardens. Environmental Groups More Gardens and Time's Up! have sent out calls to their members and volunteers to come to the garden to support, as press, supporters and police continue to assemble.

Gardeners who have been camping in the woke this morning to the sound of the garden fences being destroyed by heavy earth equipment and trees being cut down by chain saws. The encampment has been ongoing through the winter in order to watch the garden for just such an unannounced arrival.

The city has essentially given away this land ­probably one of the most valuble piece of real estate in New York City‹ to the developers Sidney Fetner Associates and Brickman Associates for building luxury condominiums. This 80 million dollar project has been deceptively described as a "Museum of African Art" which has no collections and will house a few small rooms for lectures. This land grab has been given outside of the competitive bidding process and without proper community, environmental or legal oversight.

Time's Up! and More Gardens! worked with the gardeners both days this past weekend to get the garden ready for planting. Together we cleaned up debris, opened the soil and planted wildflower seeds." said Ellen Belcher, Times Up! Garden Coordinator, "This must have threatened the developers, who are intent on destroying this green space and the community it supports."