Hi all,

It is a sad day for the Vera House Community Garden. The property now has a new owner (Brett Marani; a real estate agent/developer) and it seems that he is not interested in allowing us to continue utilizing the garden until permits are pulled and he is ready to build. We were informed by Brett last week that we'd have until October 31 to garden. We were then told 2 days later that the offer no longer stands, as the Normal Heights Community Development Corporation (NHCDC) did not want to extend our lease for another 3 months.

Today, we woke up to see the garden being destroyed. Tomato cages were dismantled. Wooden planter boxes were torn out and plants were uprooted in the process.  Most of the remaining vegetables, fruits, flowers, and plants were destroyed in the process. Lois Miller, President of the Normal Heights Community Development Corporation, took it upon herself to enter the garden along with hired workers and clean out any structure that was inside the lot (see image below). When asked why she was doing this, she said the new owner instructed her to dismantle any 'improvements' that were added to the property.

The NHCDC also changed the lock on the gate and pulled out all of the plumbing/water lines. The gardeners have no access to the garden and no way to water the plants that still exist. Everything inside has been left to die. 

We are launching a formal investigation into the NHCDC and its ties to this property. We are also questioning their true purpose, as they are registered as a public benefit corporation/non-profit that is supposed to serve our Normal Heights community.

While we are not sure what the future holds for Vera House Community Garden, we thank you for your support and encouragement. If there are future updates on a new garden location, we will keep you all posted.