The Joseph Daniel Wilson Memorial Garden on West 122nd Street in Harlem was developed over 30 years ago on rubble-strewn vacant land which had been abandoned by its owners. It has become a flourishing oasis which serves the community in countless ways. Half of the garden was bulldozed under Mayor Giuliani in the late 1990s. Of that which remains (four narrow lots) two non-contiguous lots were reclaimed under the Giuliani Adminstration by the "titular owner" - even though taxes had not been paid for many, many years.

Now the "titular owner" wants to reap the benefits of recent real estate appreciation by selling *his* lots on the open market. The lots are not buildable because, as appraisals have shown, they are too narrow and intersect with the permanent garden lots.

Project Harmony's position is that because we "openly and notoriously" utilized the lots in a productive manner for well over 10 years before becoming aware of the "titular owner" - with no attempt on his part to contact us - the lots should legally belong to the garden. We believe the best option at this point is for the city to declare the lots permanently part of the garden by virtue of eminent domain, as has been done with the Maple Street Garden in Brooklyn.