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Read the press release here.

Coalition Seeks To Beautify Brooklyn Garden Into 'Community Backyard'

 A group is revamping the Hancock T & T garden to provide space for community gatherings.
A group is revamping the Hancock T & T garden to provide space for community gatherings.
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Darryl Montgomery-Hell

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A group of Bed-Stuy residents and activists is transforming a local garden into a “community backyard” to create a shared space for organizations to gather, perform and connect.

The Bed-Stuy Community Coalition will host a soft opening for the Hancock T & T “Community Backyard” Garden in August, aimed at providing an arena for “chillin’, grillin’, showin’ and growin’,” according to organizers.

Founder Darryl Montgomery-Hell created the initiative as a means to combat the “my block-your block” mentality, he said, and establish a centralized location that would link neighboring block associations and residents.

“Instead of just a space for growing food, we want to have a community hub that would give a community garden a different ethos,” Montgomery-Hell, 51, said.

Through partnerships with organizations including Weeksville Heritage Center, the “backyard” will provide space for educational resources, art and presentations for all ages, he added. The area will also be available to the community for barbecues, planting and meetings.

The garden at 324 Hancock St. has been around since 1980, according to the American Community Gardening Association.

Since beautification efforts began on the 100-by-40-foot lot in 2014, the group has installed a new pathway and stage, Montgomery-Hell said.

A six-foot-high grass wall is in the works to separate the community area from the growing section, and 75 percent of the green space will be dedicated to public activities, according to organizers.

“We want people to see a place they can value, where the community is healing itself through people who are dedicated to this,” Montgomery-Hell said.

The coalition will host its “Bed-Stuy Do & Live II” event on Aug. 15 at the garden between Tompkins and Throop avenues from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Programming includes food, music, drum lessons, art exhibitions and film screenings.

Following the soft opening, the garden will be open through Labor Day with weekend events.

For more information, visit the Bed-Stuy Community Coalition website.