The future of a 12,500-square-foot community garden in Park Slope is being threatened by a new four-story condo development being constructed on a neighboring lot. Located at the corner of 6th Avenue and 15th Street, the garden, named 6/15 Green, offers residents a quiet nature-filled oasis, as well as a composting area and solar panel-topped arbor, but community garden members claim the forthcoming condo will block the sunlight, inhibiting plants' growth and the panels' productivity. Developer Vlad Maron of Brooklyn-based IDS Management secured the proper air rights permits, but unfortunately there's no right to sunlight. "It just comes down to the value of the space and the value of the community resources," the garden's president told the Journal. "What is more valuable to the community? Another condo building or a green space?"
The new four-unit building will replace a two-story home that has already been torn down, and Maron hopes to start construction this month. He's still awaiting the building permits, as they were initially denied because of zoning issues like lot lines. Interestingly, Maron told the Journal that the garden is part of the reason he and his family will be moving into one of the apartments.
· Garden's Prospects Dim Under Condo Plan [WSJ]
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