Garden District NYC

4th Street Food Co-op

A treasured place in the community - anyone can shop at this Co-op and other co-op cards are honored. Working a shift a month saves 25% on organic food!

6 & B Community Garden

75 FREE to the Public Events Annually Native Plant Areas

ABC No Rio

This Passive House building will soon open, complete with solar panels and a green roof! It’s the ideal home for arts and activism collectives, many of which have thrived for decades. As seen at abcnorio.org this nonprofit has been an important part of downtown’s creative spirit since 1981. All are welcome! 

Allen Mall

14 blocks of public space, ideal for distancing on foot, by bicycle, skateboard, etc. Running from Houston Street to the East River, it's all contiguous (except the block just north of Delancey). Every block is different - some have recent plantings, seating and paths, others are in 'original condition'.  Special recognition is due to Juston Ladda, the social practice artist who tends the first section below Delancey Street! When will the old bathhouse reopen with a new purpose? Bike lanes on both sides make taking Allen Mall a quick trip!  

Astor Place

Public plaza that is the ‘continental divide’ between the East and Greenwich Village. Cooper Union, parts of LIU and NYU converge here. The Public Theater and other cultural touchstones are just off the plaza. In the center, the Alamo, aka the Astor Place Cube awaits you. 

Avenue A's  L Train Station

One of many Metro Stations along 14th Street, this is the newest and it has an elevator!

Avenue B Open Street

Even before the Pandemic, community members were trying to open Avenue B as a bike and pedestrian space, but it took the need for social distancing for cars to step back. In 202, DOT provided heavy wood barriers which were painted and moved daily by volunteers. Now several blocks are calm and open 8AM to 8 PM daily! In 2026, there is new paint and lane designations that open more public space to people. See @Loisaida_OSCC for updates and events, or to get involved!

CB3 Manhattan Office

Community Board 3 is one of the places to get involved in the planning and policies that make this district tick. This is a great place to get involved if you want to know more about the democratic process and what's coming up in the community. Check the online calendar for the committee meetings of interest, they are all open to the public. 

Campos Community Garden

This is really a small farm! So much delicious food comes from these plots, from many different cultural traditions. Campos celebrates the seasons with outstanding performance and events, from Aztec Dancers to Opera - see camposcommunitygarden.org/ for details! 

Caravan of Dreams

Since a plant based diet is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint,  Caravan of Dreams is on the map as its one of the best and most pioneering vegan cafes in NYC! Live music on weekends, great backroom for gatherings.

Carmen Pabon Del Amanecer Community Garden

There's a historic mural over the gate of this flower garden that reminds us of the struggle for community gardens and their importance to the wellbeing of the community.  Find out more of the story and join a terrific cultural or craft event in this flower-filled place at carmenpabongarden.org/

Childrens Magical Garden

It’s a place to play and learn. A long fought for space, now it is a whole but needs more sunlight and hands to become the garden of dreams. Mulberry & peaches are harvested here. 

Con Ed Plant

Where does the community get its juice? This behemoth uses natural gas and other fossil fuels. Just a little bit is renewable now, but the next five years will change the energy balance for good, we hope! Check out the LES Power Green Map for nearby energy alternatives.

De Colores Community Garden

There’s a local music hot spot here! De Colores is a busy place every Friday evening from June - November, when it hosts the LUNGS CSA. This is a pay as you go opportunity to buy from local farmers, currently $15 a week - get details at lungsnyc.org/csa/

Dorothy Strelsin Memorial Garden

Quiet and calm, this is a NY Restoration Garden - saved by Bette Midler from being auctioned for development, this small spot of green is accessible and gracious. Known locally as Suffolk St Garden, Dorothy Strelsin Garden has a cool history. 

East Broadway Subway - F Train

The F has a great route and this station is the first to test a TEN - a Thermal Energy Network. Waste heat from the subway is helping cool the station, thanks to radiant ceiling panels described here. It won't be long before other stations are more comfortable. TEN systems that use the subway's excess heat for warming or cooling the buildings above are in the works, too.This station has an up escalator, but it's not fully accessible.  A long-awaited elevator is slated for the next F station at Delancey Essex, which has the JMZ as well as the F train. 

El Sol Brilliante

This garden epitomizes culture, with frequent performances amidst the deep greenery of the garden. Definitely one of the nicest fences in NYC!  Find it at 522 East 12th St between Aves A & B, or stop in at a montly gathering - elsolbrillante.org/

Fab NYC - Fourth Arts Block

This block was taken over by arts groups long ago, especially theaters. During the Bloomberg administration, the buildings were sold to the arts groups in them for a dollar, who then brought them up to code. FAB NYC is the organizer and support office, they also program events on the street here and Avenue B's Open Street (near 8th and 9th Streets) and in many other ways, help to develop the vibrancy of this community. Green Map System is part of their local network and our organization takes part in LES History Month that FABNYC organizes and our director, Wendy Brawer, was named an LES Community Hero by them in 2016.

Garden of the Humanitarians

There's a small orchard here that makes this garden a lovely sight in the springtime. Also known as Generations Garden.

Kenkeleba Sculpture Garden

A wonderful sight in any season! "Kenkeleba House is a non-profit art gallery dedicated to celebrating and presenting the visual aesthetic and cultural legacy of African American artists and other artists of color"   kenkeleba.orgIn addition to the sculpture garden on East 3rd St just east of Avenue B, there's also the Wilmer Jennings Gallery at Kenkeleba at 219 East 2nd Street.

Loisaida Center & Equilibrium

The Loisaida Center, at 710 East 9th, is a wonderful resource for all Lower East Side residents. There are programs for all ages, including Equilibrium, an energy lab led by Paul Garrin that involves teams of university students in real world cutting edge design projects and exhibits that shine a light on news possibilities for the energy transition.Latino and especially Puerto Rican culture shines here and the Loisaida Center supports an annual street fair that marks the start of summer with music and dance, as well as monthly La Bomba gatherings - both honor the ancestors and today's community heroes that make the Garden District unique! 

Lower East Side Garden

This garden was an early example, with raised beds, solar panels and a compost-heated greenhouse, a hidden bioswale and more in Open Road's student-designed garden. Students won a patent for a unique composting bin then and now: "As a high-school student, Environmental Program Coordinator, Nando Rodriguez designed a unique composting bin. This original design is currently used by members to build bins for our garden. Over the course of the year members collect organic material from our headquarters, local residents and the garden itself, and engage in experiments with various composting techniques.

Lower East Side People's Mutual Housing Association Apartment Buildings

Early examples of super insulated efficiency,  there are four affordable Lower East Side People's Mutual Housing Association apartment buildings designed by Chris Benedict RA and Henry Gifford are on East 3rd Street between Avenues A and D.

Orchard Alley

This community garden has a lawn, as well a rich forested ring of trees. The lawn is used for yoga, parties, and workshops. There's art, like the Acacia BiPod: Seeds of South Africa sculpture  by Dario Mohr.