Abandoned NYC Playground To Become Community Garden

The lot shut down about eight years ago because of a sinkhole under one of the playgrounds, and has remained empty, gathering trash, ever since

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By Gustavo Solis

DNAinfo New York

HARLEM — An abandoned playground on 127th Street is set to come back to life as a community garden.

Harlem Grown, a nonprofit that converts vacant lots into working gardens, signed a lease to take over the space from its current owners the Abyssinian Development Corporation.

The lot shut down about eight years ago because of a sinkhole under one of the playgrounds. It remained empty, gathering trash and becoming home to raccoons ever since, neighbors said.

“When I moved here 11 years ago it was just a neighborhood park,” said Kathy Smith, 55. “They closed the park in 2007 and we’ve been working to get the park open again since 2010.”

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