{"id":1039,"date":"2025-07-08T12:02:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T12:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/?p=1039"},"modified":"2025-07-14T12:47:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T12:47:06","slug":"a-south-bronx-garden-offers-a-place-for-new-yorks-immigrant-communities-to-keep-traditions-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.unlockhost.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/08\/a-south-bronx-garden-offers-a-place-for-new-yorks-immigrant-communities-to-keep-traditions-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"A South Bronx Garden Offers a Place for New York\u2019s Immigrant Communities to Keep Traditions Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Local restaurateurs, a community land trust, and a design nonprofit teamed up to create H.earth, a refuge in a neighborhood long abused by the city.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n
\n

Last autumn, the outdoor kitchen at<\/b> New York City\u2019s Bruckner Mott Haven Garden<\/a>\u2014a community space in the South Bronx located between an elevated highway, industrial buildings, and a six-story apartment building\u2014made its debut.<\/p>\n

From a tall, column-like redbrick hearth, Natalia M\u00e9ndez, a cofounder of the nearby Oaxacan restaurant La Morada<\/a>, grilled fresh corn over an open fire and served steaming bowls of refried beans, freshly made guacamole, and crispy flautas. Families enjoyed their meals and lounged in hammocks suspended from a canopy roof surrounding the outdoor fireplace. Curious visitors roamed around the new raised beds, rainwater harvesting and purifying system, greenhouse, and solar-powered bathroom\u2014features that the garden\u2019s steward (and M\u00e9ndez\u2019s daughter), Carolina Saavedra, had dreamed of since she began helping to rehabilitate the 40-year-old green space in 2019 after it had fallen into disrepair.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Territorial<\/a>
\n

Territorial Empathy installed new raised beds, a solar-powered toilet, and a greenhouse. As the garden matures, it will grow vegetables, medicinal herbs, and flowers. <\/p>\n

Courtesy Territorial Empathy<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

The project, named H.earth, is a collaboration between La Morada, the Bronx Land Trust<\/a> (an organization that manages 18 community gardens in the borough), and the nonprofit design collective Territorial Empathy<\/a>. Together, the women-led team has transformed the garden into what it calls a sanctuary\u2014a place for community care where people can get a meal, learn about sustainable gardening, or just rest. It\u2019s also a space of cultural preservation where M\u00e9ndez and Saavedra can teach children about plants and Indigenous medicine and the recipes that have sustained their family for generations. The plan is for the garden to become a resource for La Morada\u2019s mutual aid kitchen<\/a>, which began serving more than 500 free meals per day during the Covid pandemic and continues to do so.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\"At<\/a>
\n

At its grand opening, last fall, La Morada served grilled corn, beans, and guacamole\u2014dishes it also serves in its mutual aid kitchen.<\/p>\n

Photo by Stephanie Ayala<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\n

Against the backdrop of the South Bronx\u2019s relatively slow recovery since the start of the pandemic<\/a>, as well as multigenerational disinvestment<\/a> that has included redlining<\/a> and forced displacement due to highway construction<\/a>, H.earth demonstrates how community-led architecture can help heal a neighborhood. Last fall, Dwell spoke with M\u00e9ndez, Saavedra, and Zarith Pineda, the founder of Territorial Empathy, about why this project was important for them to complete.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Natalia<\/a>
\n

Natalia M\u00e9ndez runs the South Bronx restaurant La Morada.<\/p>\n

Photo: Lanna Apisukh<\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

See the full story on Dwell.com: A South Bronx Garden Offers a Place for New York\u2019s Immigrant Communities to Keep Traditions Alive<\/a><\/b>
Related stories:<\/span><\/p>\n