The Greening of the Bronx: An Urban Garden Tale

-This program was made possible by the generous support of our sponsors... the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School -- advancing research to identify groundbreaking ways to promote equity worldwide.

The Human Solidarity Project -- delivering tailored workshops and consulting for leadership development, conflict reduction, and organizational performance.

Additional funding by... -I grew up in Detroit when it was the Motor City Capital of the World.

That's me on the right.

I'd just been visited by the Tooth Fairy.

My grandparents came up from the South in the 1940s so my grandfather could work in the auto plants and build a better life for our family.

My grandparents hit the big time, and our family became blue collar and middle class for the first time in our family's history.

My mother was a secretary, so we were considered pink collar.

But blue collar or pink collar, life was good.

Everyone bought a car, of course.

Bought a house, settled down, raised their families, and sent their kids to college for the first time.

We were happy... the future a hopeful promise... until government policies intensified a war on urban communities of color.

That included massive housing destruction called planned shrinkage and benign neglect, with the intention of destroying communities of color who weren't deemed worthy to exist and environmental injustice that dumped toxic sites disproportionately in poor communities, especially poor communities of color.

Other cities were dealing with the same urban redlining, disinvestment, and decay as Detroit.

If you look at pictures of the Bronx from the same period, you could be looking at Detroit.

But in the 1990s, community activists in the Bronx learned some new words -- "environmental racism," "social and economic justice," "livable wages," "green jobs."

Community activists in the Bronx began to turn this... into this.

Took areas like this... ...and created this.

Began creating green jobs that paid a livable wage and lifted people out of financial insecurity.

It made me wonder what the Bronx was doing that it could teach the rest of us.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -I was born and bred right smack-dab in the middle of Hunts Point.

Yeah, but -- And it was because I was born and bred here in the -- actually in the late '60s and watched so much of it burn, the last thing I wanted to do was be here, you know, when, you know, I grew up and after I went to college.

And I was just not trying to be here at all.

I only came back home because I was broke and needed a cheap place to stay, which was my parents' house.

[ Laughs ] And it was -- But it was around that time in the late '90s, you know, that I realized that our city and state really were -- They were just continuing to use our community as a regional sacrifice zone, you know, for many of the burdensome facilities, like waste facilities and then later power plants and sewage sludge treatment plants that wealthier and usually whiter communities in New York City could afford to avoid.

And so if people thought our communities were great for garbage, then maybe they should be great for a park.

I remember when I ran Sustainable South Bronx in our -- You know, we started one of the country's very first green collar job training and placement systems there.

And, you know, it was basically -- It was one of those acts of desperation because we needed something to support our community.

People -- You know, when we first started working on the parks, people were all excited about it.

And then I kept hearing stuff like, "You know, Majora, we need some jobs up in here."

And I'm like, "Okay, okay, let's figure something out real fast."

And what we did was, we just looked around and realized that, you know, as things started to happen, you know, to do restoration on the river, that the city was bringing in people from outside of this community to do that work.

And we were like, "Have you not seen that there are people here that we could -- We could train to do this work?"

-Okay.

- Whoa-oh, whoa-oh - Yeah - Whoa-oh, whoa-oh, oh-oh - I'm making plays - Whoa-oh, whoa-oh - And I can do this all day You know, I've been making plays Plays, plays, plays [ Indistinct conversations ] -Put your hands together and follow like this.

Hands together and follow like this.

Some of you... -That's the whole problem.

Yeah.

You look like... [ Indistinct conversation ] -My name's Gregory Deary, and I'm a field manager for the BEST for Buildings Program, which is the weatherization program here at Sustainable South Bronx.

Okay.

Today is the last day of testing to get into this -- the fall session of this, um, academy.

And that would be BEST for Buildings, as well as BEST Ecology.

So, um, today is our last day to have everybody tested.

In the morning, it would be more of a physical fitness to get them up and going and see, you know, um, how physically fit they are.

Um, and after the physical fitness component, we break the participants up into teams and we do a series of team building exercises to see how they interact with one another, how they are as individuals, and how they interact as a team, being they're gonna be together for a few months.

-And y'all know y'all gotta lean me towards the first one before we do anything, right?

-Exactly.

Exactly.

-Oh, there goes Superman!

I'm going to the moon tomorrow, watch.

Come on, keep sliding, keep sliding.

-Keep going.

-Keep sliding me, pushing.

You gotta push my legs.

They're coming down.

Push my legs.

Push me.

-He's gotta start.

-Ah!

Ah!

-Let him go.

-Yeah.

He rolling.

He done rolling.

-After they try out, then we have a, um, discussion to see who is a good fit for our program.

Um, what's gonna happen is, this is the following directions workshop.

So Miss Evelyn is gonna be the group leader right now.

And what you're gonna have to do is... -He was the leader.

-No, no, no, no, no.

For now -- Just listen up.

[ Laughter ] For now, without turning around everybody in the row, you're gonna take what's in that bag and make something.

Now, listen, it doesn't make anything in particular.

It's whatever you create.

-Okay.

-Now, after you create it, you're gonna have to verbalize it to your team, how to build it just the way you built it.

And they're gonna have to follow your direction.

-All the way at the end, put the blue all the way on the right side.

Take the red LEGO piece and just lock it in, going straight across the middle.

You should have a space on either end.

On the right end, you slide your wooden ice cream stick all the way in so it's touching the plywood.

Slide it in.

Put your alphabet chart down flat.

-The purpose of the exercise is to be able to take direction, and then see how well you give direction, as well.

[ Indistinct conversations ] [ Conversations continue ] [ Door buzzer rings ] -See, this... -We got to use all the blocks?

-Yes.

-Yeah, all of them.

[ Door buzzer rings ] -Time.

Time.

-Make that decision as a team.

[ Indistinct conversation ] -It's close enough.

-Not really.

-Not really.

-'Cause it has space between this.

And you can see that space right here.

-Where?

But this, I think, we don't want right here.

I think this is a wide spot here.

And I'm thinking this goes here somehow like this.

[ Man speaking indistinctly ] -This corner right here.

If you move it over, shift it over... Sh-sh-sh-sh, chh-chh-chh-chh-chh.

-And then just stand this up.

You can try that one.

Try that one like that.

-Okay.

-See?

-Mm-hmm.

-Over here.

-You gotta come out this way.

Look at it from this way and you'll see it.

-Oh, okay, okay.

-And we slide this one a little over so that that little piece... -Slide it down.

-Slide it down just a little bit inside that one now.

-Oh, so you build it like a tower.

Well... -Okay.

-We think we was doing it flat.

-We missed a clue.

-Like a tower.

-You missed a clue.

The clue was right in front of you.

-We could have got it right.

-I would have never thought to look on the table for a clue, though.

-Um, but the reason why we do this is for team building, 'cause it's really important.

You're gonna be together for 17 weeks.

If you get accepted into the program, some of you are gonna be together 13 weeks, 12 to 13.

Some of you are gonna be 13 to 16 weeks.

Right?

You have to work as a team, and working as a team also means listening to each other.

She said it from the very beginning -- "We should try to stand it up," and they were like this -- "Ooh!

Let's try to do this."

They didn't even consider to say, "Okay, let's do it her way."

They did the same thing when you were saying it.

You were trying.

You were wrong.

And then the other thing is that if you think as a team, if you're looking at something and you think and you're like -- You have that gut or something telling you that's wrong, is to say, "Well, this time, I think you're wrong," 'cause you said, "Let's try -- Let's try it standing up."

But you only said it, like, once.

You said, "Okay."

You just went with the team.

-And then, also, I thought that it was supposed to be laying down.

-No, I said, "You can do it any way you want to."

I didn't say, "Do it laying down."

I didn't say, "It goes laying down."

'Cause when you look at a sketch from an architect, it's not gonna look like this.

It's usually laying flat and you have to build it three-dimensional, don't you?

-Right, right.

[ Up-tempo music plays ] -Up, up.

[ Claps ] Up, up.

-There you go.

-Up, up.

Two in the back.

Ooh!

Two, two.

[ Claps ] Boogie-woogie legs.

Sit up.

And go up.

[ Snaps ] Turn.

-Turn, turn.

-Turn.

-Turn, turn.

-Turn.

[ Mid-tempo music plays, indistinct conversations ] -Okay, sit.

Then forward.

Okay.

And back here, bend the knees.

Side.

And down.

[ Tempo increases ] Head goes back.

Hips up.

Forward feet.

Lift it up.

-I'm watching you.

[ Man laughs ] -Head back.

[ Clapping ] Okay, we have a nice little recording there.

Regimen -- 30 minutes.

All you need is a glass.

So get together.

Okay.

Get up close.

I want you guys to continue to stay strong, loving, and kind to each other.

This class is going to go so far.

You're gonna crack that glass ceiling that is above us.

It will not be there.

You will keep rising, I know it.

My God tells me so.

I know the energy that is in this room.

Stay together.

- Unh [ Woman shouting indistinctly ] [ Crowd cheering ] - Unh [ Indistinct conversations ] Unh -My name is Dwaine Lee.

I work for Sustainable South Bronx, and at Sustainable South Bronx, I'm the field manager for the BEST Academy BEST Ecology training initiative.

And basically, what that is, is a green collar job training program that we've hosted at Sustainable South Bronx for the last seven years.

So the curriculum is basically divided into two modules.

We have a training track that focuses on the built environment.

It's called BEST for Buildings.

There's everything included, including weatherization and energy efficiency, energy retrofitting, basic construction.

The Ecology curriculum, which I'm the field manager for, is really similar, as well.

And so what we do is, we teach a curriculum that has a lot of different modules.

The main focus areas are ecological restoration, which includes forestry, gardening, sustainable landscaping techniques.

The other broad area of concentration is low-impact development, which looks at ways of implementing stormwater management techniques in the urban environment that include things like green roof installation, design, and maintenance, that include, um, the construction of rain gardens, rainwater harvesting systems, um, pervious concrete or pervious pavement technologies.

Sorry about the delay, but we're maybe about 5 to 10 minutes behind schedule.

Um, glad to see you all here this morning.

I want to thank you guys for being here, for being on time.

And we're gonna go ahead and get started.

Today what we want to do is, we want to just talk to you a little bit about the history of the organization of Sustainable South Bronx.

As either myself or Greg mentioned to you yesterday, what we're gonna do is, we're gonna ask staff members from Sustainable South Bronx to come down and speak to you guys today, um, about what they do here and how our organization is run, basically the anatomy of our organization.

We believe this is important to you so that as we sort of bring you guys into our extended family, that you understand, you know, what it is that we do here and how the organization is run.

You know, we're a relatively small organization with a small staff, and we've gained quite a large reputation in environmental circles because of some of the work that we do.

Um, a large part of that is because of the really hard work that these people do.

And the other part of that is because of strategic alliances.

Sustainable South Bronx has been around since 2001, and our organization is, as you guys know -- you heard me say this in the orientation process -- It's an environmental justice organization.

And basically what that means is that we try to address a number of issues related to the environment as they impact communities that don't necessarily have the biggest voice or the most political clout.

And our organization was born and still exists right here in Hunts Point, and really was born out of the necessity of addressing some of these issues in Hunts Point, and also to create sort of a model for other communities that are similar to Hunts Point to be able to say, "You know what?

There are ways that we can create solutions for ourselves."

-The problem with environmental issues is not just that they're -- you know, having waste facilities and power plants and sewage sludge pelletizing plants.

It's not just that they are, like, these ugly things.

I mean, they have pretty serious health consequences.

You know, in particular, the fact that there's conclusive evidence right now to show that proximity to fossil fuel emissions causes learning disabilities in young children.

And so where do you find these -- these facilities that have lots of fossil fuel emissions?

Oh, surprise.

Poor communities.

What else do you find in poor communities?

Poor schools.

So you got poor kids going to poor schools.

That is a pathway directly into prison, rather than higher education.

-Transfer station.

This is how garbage in the city gets handled.

This one is, uh -- This one is... Let me get down to the middle for the people down here...

This is what you call a transfer station, right?

This is how the city deals with its garbage, right?

So this one is construction and demolition.

Here in Hunts Point, we have 15 transfer stations.

In the South Bronx overall, we have 35 transfer stations.

-He ain't doing nothing.

-The South Bronx deal with about 45% of the city's commercial waste.

Okay.

So these transfer stations design... -Ew.

-These transfer stations are usually in poor communities of color.

So we also looked at the policy trying to find better ways.

You can recycle everything you throw away.

You can.

There is a way to go to zero waste where you recycled everything so that nobody has to deal with these, um, transfer stations.

The brown building up there -- That's the wastewater treatment plant.

The one with the red and white over there -- That's the power plant.

You see the two kind of, like, tube-y things by the island?

The red and white?

That's a power plant.

You have the oil industries on the other side.

Um, and then you can also see Rikers from here.

That's Spofford Juvenile Facility.

-Is that Spofford?

-What's that?

-And you say, "Why does she talk about a jail?"

I'm gonna tell you why we talk about jails.

Not so long ago, the city had a plan to build a 1,400-bed jail that was gonna cost over $365 million right here in the neighborhood.

Now, how many jails we got in Hunts Point, or in the area?

We got four.

You got Spofford, you got Horizon.

You got The Barge.

And believe it or not, even though you got to go all the way to Queens, Rikers is considered a Bronx jail because when you get arrested, you come over here to the 41st Precinct to get booked, and then they take you to Rikers.

Right?

So because of the Yankee Stadium deal, right, they closed down Bronx County up that way.

That's the reason why they closed that one down.

The city promised the Department of Corrections for them to build them another jail.

So it's gonna be here.

And in my opinion, living in this neighborhood, I feel it was a negative message being portrayed to us, telling us all we good for is jails.

Why are you spending 365 million tax dollar money on another jail when you're telling me in the news that crime is going down?

That doesn't make sense.

Then Sustainable South Bronx made a campaign that said, "Green jobs, not jails."

Instead of spending $365 million on a jail, you can spend that money on investing on green collar job training and the creation of those jobs, especially in neighborhoods like this one.

They spend more money to keep our young men and women incarcerated than they do to educate us.

People that are in Rikers right now, the reason why they're locked up in Rikers right now is because their bail is less than $1,000 and they can't afford to pay that.

So they're stuck sitting there until they're heard... or they're tried.

So why don't you solve that problem first before you go build a jail?

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Yes!

-Yeah.

He said you need everything.

-We got cold drafts in every window.

-Is there mold there?

Is there mold there?

-Yes!

-[ Laughs ] -Yes!

We got leakage.

Yes, we need weathering.

Yeah.

So it's helpful that y'all come around and let somebody know, 'cause I think I just helped them a lot because it's expensive to change windows and things of that nature.

And a lot of times, when you're just trying to pay your mortgage and just maintain your bills, you can't afford to do the extra things like that to help save money.

So you still end up spending more money.

So I think that what y'all are doing is good.

So yeah, you're more than welcome when they come, if they come to do anything, yeah -- Come and tape it and try to help other people 'cause we're not the only people on this block that needs help.

-Okay.

And would you be interested in learning more about this energy efficiency thing?

Like... -Yes.

Whatever you're gonna give me.

Give me a pamphlet or a paper.

Give me everything.

-I wish everybody on this block was just like you.

Believe me, people is like -- They -- Look, they open -- They don't even open that door.

-I know about your program.

-They're like, "Who are you?!

What do you want?!"

-I actually recommended somebody to take this.

-Oh.

Did you?

Did they take it?

-Yeah.

He's out doing it.

-Oh, is he working?

-Yeah.

He's, um, cleaning up the oil.

-Oh, okay.

He's getting it.

[ Speaks indistinctly ] Okay, what we're gonna do is, we're gonna have somebody come through here.

They're gonna be sending people through the next couple of months.

And I'm just -- See, look, I'm just writing down your address so we know what houses answered.

And she needs -- This is the everything girl.

It's the everything girl.

Um, your name?

-Okay.

Somebody will contact you, and they'll be coming through, and they should be contacting you within the next month or so.

-Free, right?

-Yeah, free.

-They'll come through and hook me up.

-Yeah.

We gonna hook you up.

We gonna hook you up, Tamika.

-We got you.

-I wish everybody on the block was like that.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Oh, yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

[ Conversations continue ] -This one.

-You gave us the answer.

-Here is the answer.

-Fill one in.

That's it.

[ Conversations continue ] -Don't push the saw into the cut.

Just run it back and forth, like you're -- you know, like, light and fast.

There you go.

And you could cut that just a little bit closer again if you wanted.

-7 or -- 7.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -You know, there's a lot of awareness about climate change and global warming around the entire planet.

And even in poorer communities and underserved communities, there's that awareness that there's something wrong with the environment.

But a lot of times, people from our communities don't have the ability to sort of, like -- to understand how they can participate and be an agent of change or be an agent -- an agent of causation.

And so there's, like, this awareness that things are happening around them, but not the awareness that there's a way that they can participate or become a part of the solution to this problem.

And so what we do is, we try to give them, um, steps that they can take, skills that they can market, um, information that they can internalize that helps them to become agents of change, or to create a career for themselves that allow them to participate as a solution bringer.

-So what made you decide to join the program?

What made you decide to... -Well, honestly, like, my friend was, like, "Are you doing anything?"

And I'm like, "No."

She's like, "Well, come with me."

And we wound up here and we took the test and I really didn't know what the program was gonna entail, what it was all about.

But I'm so glad that I said, "All right, let me go."

'Cause now I met Rosalind.

[ Laughter ] I met Sheray.

-Keith.

-Ke-- Uh, Keith.

I'm sorry.

Oh.

You got to edit that part out.

[ Laughter ] -Kenny.

Don't forget Kenny.

-And here's my Kenny.

Come on, Kenny.

Yay!

And we're in class, and it's so great.

-I've been living in the Bronx all of my life.

My whole life.

Like, I've ventured and I've lived a year here and two years there.

But my basic foundation is always in the Bronx.

It's always in the Bronx.

I don't want to go to Colorado to have peace and serenity.

Why do I have to?

[ Man laughs ] -Well, I got in the program 'cause I've always been interested in green energy, and it's time to get into it.

Uh, learning how to install green roofs and helping the environment -- It's the thing to do.

And it's the thing of the future.

And I want to be a part of it.

-I was actually a teacher, a high school math teacher in the Bronx.

Um, and then I didn't really like that too much.

Um, something that I really was looking into and really sort of am excited about is this idea of urban agriculture.

I remember saying to, uh -- When I was in school, I told my classmates, "I'm gonna be a farmer in the city."

And at that time, you know, I was kind of seeing it as a joke, but I really kind of wanted to farm and live in the city.

And everybody laughed, you know, like, "Oh, you can't be a farmer in the city."

And now it's like, wow, it's possible.

Like, I could really be a farmer in the city.

Like, actually, farm, like, right here.

I don't have to go, you know, in the middle of the country, or Idaho, or anywhere else.

I can do it right here.

And this is where it counts.

This is where people actually need it.

-On next week, and here on out, you'll be going to what we call ANDO International.

ANDO International, they do certifications.

It's classroom settings.

The first classroom date on your calendar is... -Plumbing.

-...basic construction.

So what it is, is, they have this warehouse that they have in Queens.

So their main building is down the block where you work.

So in that block, they have this warehouse that they have opened up.

They have frames of a building, frames of a roof, um... toilets, sinks that you pull out, actually see how the plumbing works when we talk systems.

So they're gonna be able to do hands-on and give you basic information on how the systems work in the new buildings and these new -- old buildings and the new green buildings.

-You got a nail right here to hang it on.

There you go.

-I'm gonna show you how to be one with the duct tape.

-Duct tape help.

[ Laughter ] -That's crazy.

-Yo.

Homeless person's dream right there.

[ Laughter ] -You laugh.

I got duct tape stories I can tell you.

-Jonathan Davis could build a nuclear sub out of duct tape.

[ Laughter ] -He was right in cue with that, too.

[ Laughter ] -Usually I travel with a 1/4 roll of duct tape in my bag.

When you wear a half face respirator, you want to have, uh, safety glasses on.

When you have a full face, there's not a need.

You got the eye protection that you need.

Where's my boy?

Oh, it must lunchtime.

[ Laughter ] -Sure enough.

-You know.

-For real.

-Don't be worried about what time it is 'cause if you worry about time, you're going slow.

-That's true.

-All right.

Now... [ Laughter ] -That's a straight jail flick right there.

[ Laughter ] -Historically, the people who did this work were fringe types of people -- immigrants, ex-convicts, unemployed, uneducated.

But people aren't attracted to doing this type of work 'cause they think it's inherently dangerous.

They aren't aware that if you take proper precautions, lots of people can do this work safely.

When I first got in the business, the people who did this work for the most part were black, Spanish, and some good old boys from West Virginia.

But they are investing in wind power, thermal power, geo power, solar power.

And to apply these to retrofit the buildings is gonna be a monumental task that's gonna, you know, cause the need for a lot of manpower, a lot of technical training.

While the technology is somewhat advanced, it's not advanced to the extent that people can't, you know, do the work, you know.

It's not that hard to learn how to take windows out and put new windows in and, you know, fit in solar panels and weatherize buildings.

Where the change is gonna take place -- Those are the ones who are gonna benefit from this type of training, because it's gonna allow them to have tools that is marketable in the green economy -- the weatherization, solar panels, the asbestos, the lead, the hazmat.

All these things will allow them to give them tools so they can market themselves.

And where else can you go where you can take a four-day, five-day, six- or eight-week bank of courses and come out and be able to make a decent wage?

Pay is relatively good.

You know, it's not uncommon to make $30, $40, $50 an hour doing this.

So now, also, um, having a felony on your record is not necessarily a bar to doing this work.

You know, I've done a lot of training up in the prisons.

I've trained, um, over two dozen, um, correctional facilities throughout New York, from Attica, down to, um, Rikers Island.

And many times, the training the inmates get inside, if they're so inclined, they can come out here and transfer that training to this business.

I've had a lot of students who I've taught up inside the facilities who got out, and they're doing this work now, and it's really, um, empowering to allow, you know -- to be able to provide this training to individuals and see how they can change their lives around and earn decent wages.

That's why I teach the most.

That's the fun part for me.

I like to teach.

I could do other things in this industry, but I think my niche has been to, um, help individuals ride the green wave.

-Okay.

We came out today and we planted vines, all different kind of vines in these slots, and we're gonna train these vines to go up these poles and to actually go all the way up the wall.

And it's gonna be a wall of vines.

It's gonna -- And once everything grows in, it'll look like it's a part of the picture.

'Cause we're gonna train them, we have to come back at least 2 to 3 days a week.

Maybe two days should be enough, a week, to come and train them to go up these walls so they can look like they're a part of the wall.

And that's how a green wall is started.

This is the second project that we have done for Sims.

They have another green wall at their other, um, plant.

We have another green wall that we did for them, a green wall and a rain garden.

That one is very pretty, too.

It beautifies the environment, cleans the air, adds stormwater retention, and community pride.

-We met in Sustainable South Bronx, really.

We took the same class together in BEST Eco.

Started the class in February and... -January.

-No, it was February.

-Oh, sorry.

February.

Of this year.

-This year.

And graduated in May.

And we interned after a while.

-Oh, look.

We already started getting butterflies.

-Uh-huh.

-[ Laughs ] - Man, I get this work, work, work, work, work, work All I do is - Work, work, work, work Work, work, work, work - All I do is - Work, work, work, work Work, work, work, work - All I do is - Work, work, work, work - Cecy B, and, man, I get this Work, work, work, work, work, work - All I do is - Work, work, work, work Work, work, work, work - Yeah, all I do is - Work, work, work, work, work, work - Man, I get this - Work, work, work, work Work, work, work, work Don't make money, then it don't make sense You don't make money, then keep your 2 cent [ Indistinct conversations ] -Sledgehammer?

-Rock wall.

-Oh, spider?

-Yeah, a big black one.

-Like a big kid right now.

He's, "Aaah!"

He's making it.

[ Machinery whirring, hammer pounding ] -It's full.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -You're gonna wear yourself out.

-Squeeze it out.

Slide your hands up to the yellow and then slide it down.

-Huh?

-You aren't gonna use muscular force to bring it down.

It's so heavy with gravity, all you got to do is then keep moving.

-Ah.

-Whoo!

-Wait, wait, wait.

-We're in probably about Week 7 of our training, and, um, we're involved in a project today which involves, um, some of the stormwater training that the BEST team gets as part of their curriculum.

So during the course of the stormwater training, they'll learn a number of techniques.

They'll learn a number of techniques involved with managing stormwater, especially in the urban environments.

It's one of the huge infrastructure problems that we deal with.

So they'll learn how to design and implement rainwater harvesting systems, how to sort of create pervious areas like rain gardens and retention cells, such as, you know, just swales and things like that.

Today, what they're actually doing is, they're learning to build a dual function structure, which is gonna be a shade structure for the garden, but it's also gonna serve as a rain catchment surface area, so that the garden will be able to do a couple of things here.

They'll be able to capture water that they can then use for irrigating the growing beds, the growing -- the vegetable beds.

And they'll also have sort of an area where people can, you know, get respite from the sun.

This is a very sunny garden, especially in the summertime.

Not a lot of shade trees in these open areas.

So this structure will have dual purpose.

And so they're learning how to basically create one of these structures from scratch.

Participate in the construction of it, and at the same time, you know, sort of learn how these structures can be used with just a minor retrofit for water catchment, for rainwater catchment.

So that's what's going on here today.

And we have the privilege of working from some very experienced people from Grow New York City.

They implement these kinds of dual function structures in community gardens all over the city.

And this systems -- These systems are really easily adaptable to multi-family buildings where people actually live, as well as single-family residences, as well.

So they'll be learning, like, the scale of rainwater systems from something that's appropriate for community gardening or multi-family dwelling, something that may be more appropriate for a single family that lives in an A-frame house.

[ Indistinct conversations, laughter ] [ Conversations continue ] It's an amazing thing to see.

I mean, they've gotten a lot more confidence.

Um, you see quite a lot of bonding.

This is a very cohesive unit.

I think maybe even more cohesive than a lot of units that I've worked with, a lot of groups that I've worked with.

Um, there are challenges.

Folks are challenging themselves.

I see a lot of growth.

I see -- I think probably the thing I'm most gratified about is seeing people find themselves.

We go to work on a project, and somebody comes out of that project at the end of the day and says, "You know what?

This is what I want to do.

You know, this is how I want to spend my life, or this is the kind of work that I see myself doing," you know?

To me, that's, like, one of the most gratifying things for me, 'cause that says to me, like, we've done what we're supposed to be doing as an organization, which is creating a bridge for people.

I'm sort of like an educator.

I feel like part of my mandate on a personal level is to move information from one place to another.

You know, I've always been passionate about the natural world, about science, about the way things work and how they work.

And, you know, I felt like it's been sort of a passion for me to share that with folks.

Um, and I love working hard.

You know, I love being physical.

Um, and I feel like that allows me to sort of -- It helps me in terms of being, like, a leader and it helps me in terms of being a facilitator, because, you know, I mean, people mirror what they see.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -Less talking and more digging.

Get those breaks in.

[ Woman laughs ] [ Man laughs ] -Coming from you, that's not a problem.

-Get some rocks in.

[ Laughs ] -Not standing around, talking.

-He's supervising, making sure the work gets done properly.

-I'm finding rocks, man.

-Where is that... [ Indistinct conversations ] -Find more efficient rocks.

-Thank you.

-You don't want broken pieces.

-It's a good group.

I really, really like this group.

On a personal level, like, I really feel like this group is committed in a way that I haven't seen an entire group in a long time.

Their personal responsibility, being on time, accountability.

I mean, this group has tremendous sort of internal ethic, you know.

And that's like -- I have a tremendous amount of respect for them for that.

You know?

-Hey, you better watch what you say.

-I've been through that before.

[ Laughter, indistinct conversations ] -We had to teach about the context in which these folks were born, you know, and the historical, um, impact of decisions that they had absolutely nothing to do with, but impacted everything that they did.

And, you know -- And that's some tough stuff, you know, for people to expect because, you know, I mean, look, I grew up here and, you know, and now when you walk along, you know, Hunts Point Avenue or any of the streets around here, you know, this is not the Hunts Point that I grew up with.

None of those buildings were occupied.

Okay?

And, you know, so it was easy -- They were all, like, shells of buildings.

Like, this is what -- It was just -- It was like the Warsaw Ghetto, you know, after the bombing in World War II.

This is what this place looked like.

And, you know -- And so you start to internalize, like, "This place really is bad, you know.

And so, of course, by association, I must be, too."

-Okay.

You guys are finishing up this week.

-Yes, we are.

-I heard about this, uh, um, internship at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and it's something I'm really interested in.

It's a horticulture internship.

So I'm really interested in learning more about plants and learning more about sort of -- I don't -- I know that it's not exactly where I want to go, but I feel like this would be, like, an instrumental tool to have in, like, my tool belt for the future.

I don't know why.

I feel like I will need this eventually.

But it's something in the works.

Or going back to school to become an environmental engineer.

So I'm not sure if I have enough math credits to go into a master's program, or if I would have to start, like, some type of, you know, accelerated bachelor's.

I'm not really sure what the...

But I figure that I don't really care what the status is.

I just want to do it.

I don't care if I have to start from the bottom again.

I'd rather my ladder be leaning on the right building.

You don't have to start from, like -- you know, from the very bottom.

As long as I'm where I need to go, I don't care.

I, like -- I'm tired of trying to climb up a ladder, just only to find out that I'm leaning against the wrong building and that it's not a profession for me.

[ Woman speaks indistinctly ] -So what about conservancies?

There are a lot of conservancies, nonprofits.

-What on job skills?

On -- 'Cause there's a lot of information that you guys, you know -- and, I mean, that's one of the conversations that we were having is, is that you guys sort of, like, are a little bit vague about how everything fits together.

It's a lot of information that you've been given.

A lot of information in a short time, and as well as a hands-on component.

Just, like, trying to strike a balance between those things is sometimes difficult.

-Mm-hmm.

-Um, but what I think -- What I'm gonna do is, I'm also gonna give you guys an open book final exam on Thursday.

-Are you serious?

-Which we're gonna go over together.

Yeah, it's gonna be not sort of, um... We're gonna just basically go over, like, one of the final exam-- 'cause I've prepared a bunch of final exams for previous groups.

But because of the way this training cycle was structured, I didn't get a chance to give you guys an exam.

-Is that good or bad?

-It was just different.

It was just different, you know?

It just was -- This group spent most of its time outside and only had, like, a week at the end, you know, that, um...

It just didn't lend itself to the structure of our training.

But that's fine, you know.

But I'm gonna -- Because of, like, this discussion that we've had, I'm going to actually bring in the final exam that I gave to a few of the other groups.

And what we'll do is go over that and use that as a way of sort of just reinforcing some of the training, some of the stuff that you guys need to know.

-I will try to pursue that in the future, but for now, that's my main focal point.

-I love it.

I love that you're clear about... -What I want to do.

-Yeah, I love it.

-The way that I think we were able to really help people see their value in this was by helping them understand that, you know, despite their past, despite the fact that they've been told, you know, probably since the day they were born that they would never really amount to anything because you happen to be from a community like this, that this was an opportunity for them to be a part of the solution.

-...and so on and so forth so that hopefully that works in your favor, as well.

-I feel like I have a lot of other things that could hinder me from finding a job, and I don't want to start feeling that scared feeling again I always felt about finding a job.

Like, I have a felony.

I'm not gonna front.

I'm not gonna lie.

Before I came here, I was very unfocused, I was very unproductive, and I was very negative.

And it didn't become clear till that first day, like, especially after everything happened with my arm and my brother and my court stuff -- I said, "I need something different in my life.

Otherwise, I'm gonna go back to jail.

And that's how it's gonna be.

That's how life is gonna be.

You're gonna do nothing, unaccomplished.

You're always gonna fail."

'Cause, like, I had this unfulfilled, unaccomplished, wasted potential feeling all the time.

That was like a rain cloud that was always over my head.

And ever since I came here, the sun has started to shine.

I really feel different.

Like, I feel totally different about everything.

Like, and I really like... -Let me tell you something.

That feeling, that's what you call a sense of purpose.

-Exactly.

And I didn't have that before this.

-What you now said, that is the paper I wrote because I had that same feeling.

I'm like, "You know, I'm going on 40."

This is, like, before I turned 40.

And I said, "Yo, I have to find something that I can do and do for a while and can sustain me and my family and make me get the things that I need to get and live the life that I think I deserve to live."

Because -- Because at one point, I was like, "Even if I find a job, it's gonna be a job," you know?

And anything happens with jobs.

With careers, something happens, you can move on.

You take your knowledge and you move on to someplace else.

With a job, you have to go and start all over again.

And my life -- My theory was, I'm not trying to start all over.

The next time I start all over is the last time I start.

And one day, the phone rang and it was Marta and she was like, "Oh, we accepted you for the training.

We need you to do such-and-such.

We need you to be here at such and such a time."

I swear, when I hung up that phone, I fell to my knees and I tell you, I'm being serious to y'all, I fell to my knees and I said, "Thank you, God.

Thank you for giving me a second chance."

Because it's something that -- When you're out here and you're a black man and you're trying to do something positive and you see negativity all around you and people succeeding from negativity, and you find yourself in a situation where you're doing something positive and you succeeding, I don't know -- I don't know about y'all, but to me, that made -- Like I said, that's what I wrote in this paper, that I feel empowered now.

I feel like I could walk out and I don't have to feel like, "Oh, I'm gonna do this for a job."

I'm going, "I'm a career person.

I'm somebody who knows something, who can do something," and that's a serious thing, 'cause people -- There's a lot of people who don't have no focus, don't know where they're going, what they're doing.

They're just working a job for money.

I don't want to do that.

I want to be somebody that 15 years from now, you say, "Yo, I know him."

You know what I'm saying?

Somebody.

-No doubt about it.

-But all the things that I've heard of -- "You can't do this."

"You can't do that."

"You ain't gonna be nothing."

"You ain't this."

"You ain't that."

I mean, I've heard every negative thing you could possibly tell a person.

-I know.

-You understand what I'm saying?

And I'm not hearing it anymore.

It's, I don't want to hear that no more.

I told my mother, "You not down with my plan, that you ain't down on my team.

And I ain't got time for this," 'cause I'm not.

I'm 31 years old.

I got a 14-year-old son that I have to try to encourage to be something more.

And I told her, "I would probably be -- I would have been somewhere in life had I been hearing that I could do it.

Had I been hearing that, 'You can, you can, you can.'"

But I said, "I don't need you to tell me now at this point, 'cause I'm telling you my own...self."

I'm look in the mirror every day.

And I know a lot of people be laughing.

But I'm telling you, I be staring in the mirror every day -- "Go, girl.

You got it.

You can do it.

You can do it because ain't nobody telling me that."

-This is, like, everything that I could possibly hope for, you know?

Um, I mean, I've been, like -- You know, in this training cycle, I've been really self-conscious.

Like, I almost feel like I've been damaging the training because of, um, like, my own personal issues.

And I've been really self-conscious about that, and it's keeping me awake at night.

See what I'm saying?

And I'm just so gratified to hear that, you know -- that you guys are having an overall, you know, positive experience, you know, in terms of, like, what's happening.

And I can tell you, man, that, I mean, I'm the same.

I come from that same sort of, like -- you know, needing a way to, like, you know, create a path for myself.

You know, I had, you know, sort of been a jack-of-all-trades, doing a little bit of this and that with landscaping.

And I was a yoga teacher for many years.

Um, but, you know, I didn't have a college degree.

You know, I didn't have, you know, that kind of... passkey for this society.

And that college degree is what this society says, "Okay, this is a competent individual to handle responsibility."

I need you guys to take the football... -And run with it.

-...and run with it.

You know what I'm saying?

-I get tired of... ...knowing that nobody really cares about poor people.

They just -- They don't, you know?

I mean... 'Cause if they did, you know, we -- Believe me, we could deal with it if we wanted to.

Structurally, we can deal with it.

It is not that difficult.

Um, we've created all sorts of disgusting and despicable dynamics that are, by nature, designed to continue to perpetuate poverty in this country, in this city, and low educational attainment, reduced quality of life for people.

And, uh... ...it's really -- It's upsetting.

-What I want to continue to do is to make sure that we're doing, um -- we're continuing that work of environmental justice, make sure that the populations of people that have been on the receiving end of the very worst of environmental transgressions in our culture and on our planet are going to continue to have the opportunity to get the training that they need to participate in the resolution of those problems.

-The Bronx is sort of the forefront of the environmental battle, because a lot of what we recognize as global warming or the changes that brought about global warming, really were birthed in places like the Bronx, especially places like Hunts Point, which is, like, a primarily industrial sort of zone that houses everything from waste transfer plants and stations, to sewage pelletizing plants, power plants, sewage treatment plants.

I mean, there is a plethora of environmental concerns all sort of centered in this one geographical area.

And yet there are people who are living their entire lives in this community who are subject to all the problems that this causes.

Everything from rampant diabetes, to rampant asthma, pandemic levels of asthma in the South Bronx, and all kinds of environmental-related diseases and lifestyle diseases that occur as a result of not having access to green space.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -So welcome to Hunts Point Riverside Park.

This is SSBx's baby right here.

This is the one you saw that she talked -- Majora Carter talked about yesterday when you were listening.

This is the park she was talking about.

-Okay.

-Um, like she said, she was jogging with her dog.

And this used to be nothing but garbage and everything else.

Um, and when she came to the end of it is when she realized that there is a possibility of this community having a waterfront park.

It goes to show that if you do -- a community as a whole comes together, they can make positive changes.

Like, this park at the South Bronx Greenway, which is a $10-million project, that wasn't just somebody saying, "I want to build a greenway."

That was a community coming together and saying, "I want to make a change in my own neighborhood.

I have a right to live in a nice neighborhood, you know, where I have open space to take my kids to.

And this is what I want, and this is what I want to see out of it."

And it's happening.

A lot of the construction that you're seeing right now on these streets are because of the greenway.

And sometimes when you live in a neighborhood like this, the first thing you think about is, when you're making your money or you graduate or you become successful, is, "Can't wait to move out and move to the suburbs 'cause I want my kids to have a better education," or, "I'm tired of the gossip," or whatever, um, explanation that you want to move out your head, but what if you turned it around and said, "Why do I gotta move out of the neighborhood that made me who I am?

Why don't I stay for it, stay in it, fight for it, make it better for me and my kids and everybody that live here?"

Because breathing clean air shouldn't be based on the amount of money you got in the pocket.

It's a right, not a privilege.

Having a good educational system should be a right, not a privilege, and the amount of money you got in your pocket.

And living in a safe, clean neighborhood that has environmental justice, not environmental racism, should be a right and not a privilege.

So I say this -- Why move out of my neighborhood when I could just stay here and make it better?

- You know we are We ain't got no doubt, no - We rising up - Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh - We rising up - Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh - Yeah Now look it up -This kind of information just changes you.

You know?

It's so funny 'cause people don't think that folk care or are, like, that concerned about it, man.

Nah, man.

Trust me -- Folks from our communities want to, you know, know about the world around them and want to do something to contribute to, you know, preserving our resources and being a part of the solution.

It's just about opportunity.

- Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh - Huh We rising up - Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh - Unh Me, I got something to prove Unh, I will not lose Yeah, something to prove You know that I will not lose - Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh - Unh We rising up - Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh - Yeah Now look it up - Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh - Unh We rising up - Oh-oh, oh-oh... -This program was made possible by the generous support of our sponsors... the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School -- advancing research to identify groundbreaking ways to promote equity worldwide.

The Human Solidarity Project -- delivering tailored workshops and consulting for leadership development, conflict reduction, and organizational performance.

Additional funding by... For more information on this program, go to... greeningofthebronx.com.