Green Oasis and Gilbert’s Sculpture Garden

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Gilbert’s Sculpture Garden merged in the 1990s with its neighbor, Green Oasis to create a large, leafy inviting space with a gazebo, an apiary, fruit trees, a koi pond, a children’s play area and garden, plenty of room to barbecue and picnic, inviting pathways, and amazing beds of flowers and large trees. A well run and utilized garden that was made out of five empty lots full of broken cars and other debris, Green Oasis in many ways sets the pace in defining what a community garden can be in terms of bringing people together across economic, ethnic and religious divides. Green Oasis is also one of the most child-friendly gardens. It had one of the hardest struggles to survive since the local Community Board did not back its application to be spared from development even though it is proximate to a large housing project from the 1950s. Luckily for all, the plucky organizers of this garden which was founded in 1981 by Normand Valle (an ex-marine) and his friend Reynaldo Arenas prevailed with community support.

NYC East Village-Loisaida Community Gardens
updated 12/2012 by NYC Lower East Side East Village Community Gardens