Frequently asked questions

An Associate Member is one who wants to work to help maintain the garden as a physical space and an organization (including those on the wait list for a vegetable or flower plot). About four hours of work per month is expected.

A Sustaining Member is one who supports the garden through a financial contribution. We are very grateful, and no work is expected. 

A Full Member is one who has been assigned a vegetable or flower plot. Dues rise to $30 a year, and four hours per month of volunteer community work continues to be expected, in addition to maintaining the member’s own plot.

Plots are assigned (when they become available) to WSCG members according to their places on the waiting list. So the first step is to become a member of the garden. On the membership form, be sure to check the box for a vegetable or flower plot, or both. This puts you on the waiting list.

Be sure also to list the committees you’d like to work on. The garden expects about four hours a month of active participation from members who either have, or hope to have, a plot. This can include work in the garden itself, or help with behind-the-scenes tasks that keep the garden going as an organization, such as planning and delivering events, fundraising, publicity, etc.

The waiting list for a vegetable plot is currently about three years. To keep your place on the waiting list, it’s necessary to renew your membership every year and to continue to contribute volunteer work.

West Side Community Garden, Inc., a non-profit corporation, is the legal owner of the garden. The corporation is run by its Board of Directors, who are elected by the members.

The garden is maintained by its members, all of whom volunteer their services. It has no paid staff. 

The space that’s now WSCG was a garbage-strewn empty lot in the mid-1970s. As part of the West Side Urban Renewal Area, it was one of many lots designated by NYC as in need of slum clearance. (This lot originally extended all the way to Columbus Avenue.) 

Neighbors from the surrounding community began clearing the space and coming into the lot to garden, as squatters.   Eventually they formed themselves into an organization and began a years-long process of negotiating with both City government and the developer who had the right to build on the land, but had not yet done so. The Trust for Public Land provided both logistical support and a loan. The gardeners raised money for the landscape design by Terry Schnadelbach, and the garden took its current form in 1987–88. In late 1989, in a marathon day of legal procedures, the developer transferred the garden to the Trust for Public Land, which in turn transferred it to West Side Community Garden, Inc., to be maintained as a public space forever.

One way is to become a member. You will be on our email list and will receive information about all garden events, and about becoming active on the committees of your choice.

Or, if you prefer to be involved just a few times a year, look for notices on the garden fence or on this website detailing work weekends and other events throughout the year.  

Put your name on our mailing list to receive email notifications of what’s going on in the garden, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Sorry, but the garden can’t be rented for private or corporate events. With the once-a-year exception of our own Benefit Gala, events in the garden are generally free and open to the public.

Unfortunately, the garden is not able to accommodate this form of memorial. However, there are other ways that the contribution of a friend of the garden can be publicly recognized. For more information, please contact Judy Robinson (judyrobn@yahoo.com).

1. Click ‘Donate’ on this site to make a secure on-line donation, using Paypal or your credit card.  OR

2. Mail a check to 

           P.O. Box 20301
           Park West Station
           New York, NY  10025

3. If you would like to discuss a more substantial or ongoing donation, please contact Sandy Owen (sowen43@gmail.com) or Judy Robinson (judyrobn@yahoo.com).