News Release - Mayor Richards Celebrates Grand Opening of Northeast Community Victory Garden

City of Rochester

News Release

(Friday, Oct. 14, 2011) — Mayor Thomas S. Richards, City Neighborhood and Business Development Department Commissioner R. Carlos Carballada, Rochester City Council President Lovely A. Warren, City Council Vice President Elaine Spaull, City Councilmember Loretta Scott and N.Y. State Senator Joseph E. Robach joined the Helena, Wilson, and Woodbury Resident Groups to celebrate the official grand opening of the Northeast Community Victory Garden today at 599 North St.

“We are here today to celebrate the successful completion of a community-driven project,” said Mayor Richards. “You cannot put a price on, or measure the benefits that come from a group of citizens uniting and pulling off something great; and this garden is truly great. These neighbors have a passion for their community and they are setting a positive example that I can only hope spreads into other parts of Rochester.”

The culmination of more than a year of planning, the Northeast Community Victory Garden was the brainchild of Rochester residents Sharon Moore, Regina Winterkorn and Lulu Williams. Ms. Moore lost her son, DeMario Moore to violence in 2005 at the site of the garden. At a residents meeting conducted by the Anthony Jordan Health Center’s Bridges to Wellness program in May of 2009, the idea of creating a Victory garden caught on as a good project for the Neighborhood Leadership Institute as a way to improve the community.

Bridges to Wellness is an initiative aimed at empowering residents to improve the health of their community by providing funding for projects and connecting them with resources. The Bridges to Wellness service area is bordered by Nash Street, Avenue D, Hudson Avenue and Portland Avenue. The Neighborhood Leadership Institute is a project of the Pathstone Corporation, a private, not-for-profit regional community development and human service organization.

Located on a previously- vacant lot, the 43-foot by 106-foot garden was created by a group of neighbors who formed the Northeast Community Victory Garden Committee. They planned, gathered resources and constructed the garden. They identified neighborhood youth as the inspiration for the project, which is meant to symbolize the neighborhood’s positive changes and the life of the community.

“This garden helps us to remember our loved ones,” said Sharon Moore. “More importantly, it allows us to celebrate the trust, unity and respect that we can and should have for each another.”

The Northeast Community Victory Garden Committee received assistance for the project from the Neighborhood Leadership Institute, the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, the City of Rochester, Zaretsky and Associates, CONEA, PathStone, Home Depot, Anthony L. Jordan Health Center and the Bridges to Wellness initiative.

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News Media: For more information, contact at Greg Byrd at 423-2810.