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Frank White Memorial Garden

Opening Hours
Today: 11am–7pm
Wed:
11am–7pm
Thurs:
11am–7pm
Fri:
11am–7pm
Sat:
11am–7pm
Sun:
11am–7pm
Mon:
11am–7pm
Location
506 West 143rd Street
Location
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Maggie's Garden 1 Gardens Hamilton Heights Harlem

Maggie's Garden

The shaded garden on 149th street was not always the peaceful hideaway it is today. It was once an abandoned lot littered with garbage - a blight on the side street. Although the garden is now managed by Edo, it was her good friend Miss Maggie Burnett, a resident of the building across the street since the 1980s, who was the original driving force behind its transformation. "She was a cop, so no one messed with her," Jahanah, Edo’s daughter, told me when I stopped by one Saturday afternoon during the summer of 2017. She was in the garden selling baked goods and cold water. She said that there were "so many badass stories" connected with Maggie. One such legend was that Maggie stopped a shooting outside simply by confronting the instigators and saying, "Not in my garden.” In fact, she had been known to almost single-handedly police the street. Her dedication to keeping the neighborhood clean and safe is what drove her to contact then-mayor Ed Koch to request the restoration of the abandoned lot, which had long been a site for illegal activity. Mayor Koch offered her the space, and Maggie made it into a garden where she grew vegetables and even kept some chickens, “which was a nice treat for me to hear in the city,” Edo shared. When the New York Restoration Project - founded by Bette Midler - became involved in 2002, the garden was revamped. Thanks to generous funding from the Brownstone Family Foundation, a team of horticulturists and landscape architects was able to design a place that would best serve the community. Maggie’s Garden officially reopened in 2003 in a ceremony hosted by Bette Midler and attended by guests such as former President Bill Clinton and Representative Charles Rangel. Although Maggie passed away in 2016, she remained devoted to maintaining her garden well into her eighties. “It’s visibly noticed that she’s no longer here, and you feel the absence of Maggie, because she did keep things clean,” Edo reminisced, adding, “She was almost like a neighborhood staple.” Edo has done her best to keep the legacy alive, explaining that she is just “tinkering in Maggie’s shadows.” Edo does, however, allow her own philosophy on gardening to influence her modifications. As we walked down the path to the central arbor draped in hanging vines, Edo showed us the newest wind chime she was planning on putting up. “Part of gardening for me is using all of the senses,” she explained. For this reason, she has planted more colorful flowers “to give the garden more personality,” while also including sounds that serve as a pleasant backdrop for anyone resting on one of the benches arranged along the gravel paths. We were curious to find out about the members of the garden and their role in supporting it. Edo told us that anyone can be a member as long as they attend monthly meetings and do their shift working the soil. There are even areas specifically designated for members to grow new plants, and although they do not generally grow much food, we were assured that whatever they do harvest will be shared as a communal meal with all members. “That’s what this is for - sharing.”

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Unique Gifts & Things

Andrea's Natural Styles is home to Unique Gifts & Things. While visiting with Andrea, she revealed to me that over the years, during special occasions, she has enjoyed putting together gift baskets for her friends and family. These baskets are customized using her knowledge of her loved ones’ preferences, including the items they contain, the colors they are wrapped in, and the style of the basket itself. It is her way of personalizing presents and going the extra mile to make the recipients feel special.After years of receiving praise and requests from friends and clients at her salon, she decided that she could incorporate these baskets into an additional venture. Andrea was pleased to tell me that Unique Gifts has quickly taken off since she began promoting them during the summer of 2017, because people love her idea of giving “an ordinary gift in an extraordinary way.” Each basket she assembles can contain anything from socks shaped to look like rose bouquets to an assortment of the recipient’s favorite candies - she tailor makes every one to the specific requests of her customer, and does her best to deliver them within twenty-four hours. The beauty of this type of gift, Andrea explained, is that it is far more meaningful than a typical store-bought gift, but still falls within the client's budget. She hopes to continue giving others the opportunity to express this more intimate and individualized affection through her selection of unique possibilities.