The Sharswood community in North Philadelphia created something special out of nothing — now they’re being told to ‘move along’

Sometimes the sheer resilience of community breaks your heart.
About four years ago, North Philly Peace Park (NPPP) sprung up at 24th and Bolton streets, across the street from the Blumberg Projects in North Philly. Tommy Joshua, a third-generation resident of the Sharswood community, was one of the driving forces behind reclaiming a vacant lot and turning it into the fence-free urban farm and community hub NPPP has become.
But on Sunday — with less than 24 hours notice and well after the community had planted rows of American purple top rutabagas, Thai long beans, Florence fennel, savory leaf spinach, and cleared the way for perennial kale and collard greens to begin their spring growth — the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) erected a fence to keep the community out of the garden.
Leroy Smith, an elder of the Peace Park who lives in the Blumberg Senior Center, called the PHA’s actions “sneaky.” Paul Glover, founder of the Philadelphia Orchard Project, put it differently: “It is an official act of vandalism to put a garden in jail.”
Nichole Tillman of the PHA told us that the organization’s revitalization plans include breaking ground “in two or three months” on construction of housing on just the property the NPPP occupies, and said the PHA had been talking with members of the community about relocating the garden and community center to another vacant lot several blocks away.
Anyone who has ever cleaned and cleared a long derelict lot, and anyone who has done the back-breaking work of turning over soil to create a garden where there wasn’t one, can tell you how heartbreaking that prospect is. And that’s before you factor in the fact that because of its proximity to Blumberg, NPPP makes it possible for elders and those with limited mobility to benefit from the ready availability of fresh produce and to be an integral part of a vibrant, multigenerational gathering spot.
Let’s be clear: NPPP is sited in one of the city’s food deserts — the nearest supermarket is the Fresh Grocer near Temple University which is exactly a mile away on foot. Further, taking public transit, even at peak hours,  can mean waiting 30 to 45 mins. for a bus. Neither of these options are solutions for the elderly or the children that rely on NPPP.
While Tillman says that PHA has approached a supermarket as part of the revitalization plan, it will certainly take time to get a firm commitment  — much longer than this full growing season.
So why put up the fence now?
If the PHA’s intentions are to improve the quality of life for the mostly low-income residents, they must take the fence down and let the members of the Sharswood community have at least one more season to grow their vegetables.
Even if NPPP and PHA come to an agreement about a different plot of vacant land and the community garden relocates there sooner rather than later, it will be several years before the new garden is as productive as this one. Moreover, since not all current NPPP members may find a new location accessible, the PHA must find a way to fund pocket gardens adjacent to any new housing units, and must set up an engagement plan that is at least as effective cross-generationally as the garden has been these past four years.
We are reminded, when we see this stand-off between community and non-profit agency, that community is not built from the outside-in. And, like any good garden, it cannot be cultivated from behind a fence.