By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — A greenspace atop the Lincoln Tunnel overpass that has grown mainly weeds and cobwebs since the death of its legendary gardener is finally on its way to becoming a community park.
Before Alice Parsekian died in January at the age of 86, the small garden huddled between two concrete walls on W. 34th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues had been a neighborhood gem.
Numerous newspapers wrote about the garden's ever-blooming peonies, irises and lilac trees that were tended to by the Parsekian, who was also known around the neighborhood for hauling around a paintbrush and paint cans, fixing up mailboxes and fire hydrants, and removing posters from lampposts along the quiet stretch.
“She was a one-woman neighborhood-improvement committee,” one neighbor was quoted as saying in The Villager newspaper's obituary.
But since Parsekian's death, the garden, which is owned by the Port Authority, has stood padlocked. It is now overrun by weeds and rats and littered with trash.
"It was so sad. It used to be really pretty and manicured. Now it's just overgrown," said a neighborhood resident who identified herself only as Lisa, 50, who has lived on the block for 16 years and used to grow basil in one of several planters reserved for the public.
Ray Caceres, 41, a maintenance worker at the neighboring building, said many people were surprised that the Port Authority chose to shut down the space.
"It's a shame," said Caceres, who lives in Washington Heights. "She dies and that's it. The Port Authority came and put up a lock and left it like that. Nobody's taken care of it since then."
But after several months of mulling over the best use of the space and informal consultations with residents, the Port Authority has decided to turn the garden into a community park, spokesman Steve Coleman said.
Coleman said the Authority expects to begin looking for a group to manage the park soon.
"We're currently working on a plan to open it up to the public," he said.
Upon learning the news, local residents seemed thrilled that the space is finally going to be put to use.
"That's great! I'm glad they're going to do something with it," said Brady Wolfrom, 20, a doorman who works in the building across the street where Parsekian lived.
Jeffrey Kassel, 57, who has lived up the road for nearly 30 years, said he's glad that one of the only green spaces in the neighborhood will finally be open to residents to enjoy.
He added that while most appreciated Parsekian's garden, she was also extremely possessive of the space, giving others limited access.
"Nobody else was invited in even though it was supposed to be a community garden," Kassel said.
Residents also expressed concern that any park will likely face safety problems and will have to be locked up at night to keep the homeless from moving in.
Dan Bierdeman, the president of the Bryant Park Management Corporation, which oversees the greenspace at 42nd Street, said he has been urging the Port Authority to turn the lot into a public park for more than a decade.
Bierderman said he isn't optimistic that the Port Authority will convert the space on 34th Street any time soon.
"If the Port Authority is planning on doing this themselves, we’re going to have to look into the next century for when it's going to be done," he said.
Cheech Leo, 33, hopes the small lot, which measures just 10 to 12 feet across, also includes some space for locals to garden, not just to visit as park space.
"I'd want to grow veggies," Leo said.
