A community garden proposed for Kingsport Park is facing some push-back.
On Wednesday, Joel Bunker, executive director of Grow Annapolis—a nonprofit promoting and sustaining urban agriculture—posted a statement on the organization's Facebook page encouraging friends of the group to express their support for the project to the Annapolis City Council.
"What you should know is that the city may be pulling back support from the Annapolis Community Garden Project off Bywater Rd.," Bunker wrote in the statement. "This is due to the pressure of few loud and influential voices from the Kingsport Development which is adjacent to proposed site."
The project—spearheaded by Grow Annapolis—is included in Mayor Josh Cohen's The site is owned by the city.
Bunker also said in the statement that many Kingsport residents have been supportive of the project but opponents cited a fear of increased crime and desire to keep outsiders away.
At a Monday night City Council meeting, two Kingsport residents called on the aldermen and Mayor to put the brakes on the project.
John Simcox, a seven-year community member, said many residents only found out about the proposal a few weeks ago. Bunker's statement reads that Grow Annapolis started planning the garden project in 2009.
"Our community was excluded from the process of making this decision," Simcox said.
Continuing in the same vein, Margaret Kai-Zeigler, a resident and Anne Arundel County Office of Planning employee, said the city needs to communicate more with Kingsport residents and delay the project to include their input.
"This item—there's a lot of misinformation out there," Kai-Zeigler said. "The misinformation has caused a real schism in my neighborhood. I have neighbors who won't talk to each other because of this."
Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson (D-4th Ward) said she and city staff members would be meeting with the Kingsport Community Association on Thursday to discuss the project.
"I will be providing you on Thursday with all the information that you need," Finlayson told Simcox.
Bunker's letter can be read in full on the Grow Annapolis Facebook page.
Heather, let me make the following constructive criticisms that are offered only as help in your plight to force falsehoods and an unwanted community garden. 1. Stay focused on the topic, don’t show people how emotionally unstable you are by making comments like “then search your heart” or “why did you move there” . It only serves to discredit you. 2. Present facts, not anecdotal stories with no supporting data. The two links that you presented are just that. If you want to make people believe you and trust in you then you need to give them a reason to do that. 3. Communicate with authority and use the aforementioned as your tools. Not doing that only makes you look like an angry house mom that is mad that her husband works long hours while she stays at home with the kids. Good luck to you Heather, you will certainly need it as you rage through life and against the various posts on this web site. I hope you find your calling and when you do…. “take it by the horns”. However, for now, and in this particular matter you are dealing with a level of sophistication and experience that you can’t compete with.
For some reason I thought of you when I read this. Troll (Internet) – From Wikipedia, the free encylopedia In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[4] The noun troll may refer to the provocative message itself, as in: "That was an excellent troll you posted." While the word troll and its associated verb trolling are associated with Internet discourse, media attention in recent years has made such labelssubjective, with trolling describing intentionally provocative actions and harassment outside of an online context. For example, mass media has usedtroll to describe "a person who defaces Internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families."[5][6] Then I remembered why I thought of you when I went to your profile page and saw how much you post on almost every single topic. http://annapolis.patch.com/users/heather-macintosh
Susan Jenkins Associate Regional Editor, Maryland
I recently removed my comments in hopes of stopping your personal attacks. You are attributing quotes from at least three different users' comments to me alone - no wonder you are concerned about my "emotional vacillations" and "disjointed comments".
Patch editors haven't deleted any comments but some users may have opted to delete their own comments or "flag" other comments.
I thought the issue here was the large garden with chain link fencing, lights and a parking lot...
I would certainly like to see more information provided about the plans, including the parking situation. I agree that it seems wrong to remove a play area (which I see frequently being used for soccer and football games by local children) to replace it with a garden and parking. It seems, based on Google Earth views, that most of the Bywater residents are lucky enough to have a back yard. Though they are small yards, they would provide a nice growing area. I think of one other housing development that is not as blessed. The development on President Street in Eastport is comprised of apartments. There is a fair amount of green space that could easily be used for a garden. In addition, that area has historically be plagued by crime; possibly even more crime than the Bywater community. This seems like a much more natural fit for this project, and may even have a greater impact since it would cultivate not just the crops, but include people from outside of that development and increase community unity which is now completely polarized (again, significantly more than the Kingsport/Bywater communities). I’d like to direct you to a few sites in the next few posts.
This page sites examples of gardens in cities where the neighborhood “reclaims” a vacant lot. Ours is a very different scenario. We have a green area currently being used as a play area by local children. The site further states that there is a potential reduction of crime in areas that have more greenery. That area is already green with trees around it. This site is not one that needs to be “reclaimed” or in any way corrected. In fact, the current use would be disrupted by the garden (reducing area for soccer and football games) and will actually REDUCE greenery because of the parking lot.
This page states all the great things about a garden. It mentions potential to increase home values in close proximity to community gardens. It does not mention other factors that impact the price of homes. For example, if the homes are in an urban area, where vacant lots are replaced with gardens, the increase in home values would certainly increase. Again, as stated above, the proposed site is NOT a filthy garbage filled lot. It is an already existing green space being utilized by the neighbors of both communities. But let’s assume the assertion is correct, and inclusion of the garden does, in fact, increase property values. As the page states, this is a boon to the city because property taxes will increase, therefore, Kingsport residents will have to pay higher taxes. We are already paying exorbitant taxes! It is my understanding that the Bywater residents are not currently paying property taxes. Does that seem fair? It mentions the “Urban Ecosystem.” In a nutshell, having plants reduces soil erosion. Grass and trees are already present at this site and erosion is not an issue. Additionally, it discusses neighbors meeting when using green spaces. Almost all of the reasons cited on this page are already present or happening at the Bywater/Kingsport location. The claimed benefits are realized in neighborhoods where there is NO green space and the garden is added, thus ADDING green space.
This page discusses a study that finds that community gardens do NOT reduce crime. There is a sense in the community it does, but there is no concrete proof. The numbers of criminal incidents has not decreased in areas near a garden. A quote from the study: “…"initial results indicated no statistically significant differences between the mean number of crimes in community garden areas and the mean number of crimes in randomly selected areas. The results from further analysis indicated that there were no crime number differences between the community garden areas and the randomly selected areas." Despite this data, people FEEL like there is a reduction. Please do your own research. Apparently, Grow Annapolis is not interested in presenting this complete picture to anyone. Be sure to compare apples to apples and identify an orange when you see one. Kingsport/Bywater is the orange. We have an existing green space that is currently be used by both communities. GA claims to be “building a bridge” between the communities yet they are destroying an existing one in the process. Any information that may seem to indicate reduction of crime, improvement is community’s sense of pride, etc. all assume one essential element: the garden is replacing urban blight. That is not the case at Kingsport/Bywater!
It is my hope that GA will continue its work elsewhere. They should continue to help schools plant gardens. They should work with churches that have plenty of land to dedicate to these projects without impacting current uses. As mentioned above, focus on low income housing developments that lack the play areas and green spaces that Kingsport/Bywater are so lucky to enjoy and are currently enjoying and do not have back yards to use as planting spaces. Invite the Kingsport/Bywater residents to take part in the gardens at those locations. Teach about farming and fresh food. Just don’t destroy something beautiful and useful to insert a garden and a parking lot. Drive by the proposed site one afternoon and see the kids on the swings and play set. See the pick-up soccer and football games being played. Leave this spot alone and let the kids continue to play!
Some of my Post was erased by Heather deleting her comments. She deleted them not because she is wrong, but because of how the two of you were treating her. She states that clearly below. The other I erased out of fear. This conversation should be civil and personal attacks are unnecessary and inappropriate. ARC was mostly addressing my comments not hers, a simple mistake when overcome with fear and emotion. My point is to remember that we all have worth, and value by simply being here. You can make fun of me all you want and talk about how you would fire me. Fine. Your right, I would not last working for you. Your comments are cruel an inhumane. I understand that we may have a different value system, but that does not mean we should devalue one another.
Your lack of gumption and commitment to your cause symbolize exactly what Grow Annapolis is, a no facts based organization of modern hippies that want to spread “togetherness” and “community bridges”. Book a flight to Oregon and set up shop there, your weak message would be more readily accepted. Just so we are clear, you posted all statements referenced. Your friend from Millersville, Kathryn Hope, also posted some of the same things you did. Maybe you can get a two for one deal on a Southwest flight to Oregon; perhaps you may even be able to trade some cabbage and carrots for a free ticket. You'll be missed!
This is an open forum where individuals can express opinions, in your case falsehoods and ridiculous quotes. Just as you have the right to defend Heather or misdirect a topic that isn’t going your way by claiming “personal attacks”, I have the right to systematically discredit your falsehoods. Feel free to speak up, however do it with facts and stand by your convictions. Your BFF Heather couldn’t do that, so she through in a red herring.... and then "the towel". Again, this discussion is about a community garden that a majority of residents don’t want. It is proposed to be put on land that is already used by all of the communities. The icing on the cake is that this land was G I V E N to the city of Annapolis by Kingsport. In that gift it was stated that the land would A L W A Y S be used as green space. Let's resolve this once and for all. I propose we have a vote at Kingsport and let's see if the garden gets approved.
You do realize that you have your full name, Heather Macintosh, along with a glamour shot associated with your profile… right? If you look at each of your posts, Heather, you will see your name, Heather Macintosh posted next to your comment and photograph. Heather Macintosh, I hope that you’re not upset because I’m using your full name. Perhaps I should call you something else? As far as asking the admin team to remove my posts, sure, I guess they could. But why would they? Because your mad and don’t agree with my posts? Perhaps its because you don’t want me to use your name (Heather Macintosh)? If I were you I would refrain from posting anything if you’re not ready to receive a response that you don’t like. This is a public forum and we have the right to free speech. I hope we can still be friends Heather Macintosh ;-)
Perhaps GA and its “house wife mafia” would rather spend their time asking for posts to be deleted while faining “personal attacks” than actually providing one single bit of factual data. Annapolis Resident 21401, great name by the way, thank you for your posts. You’ll be hard pressed to get any sort of intelligent rebuttal from GA supporters. However, I can assure you that you will receive a few links and comments that serve to take focus away from your points and questions. Now that I’ve drawn attention to your posts you are sure to receive commentary. Let’s again prepare ourselves for links to some community garden articles that talk about “bridge building”, growing summer squash and how putting a garden in the middle of crack den increases the property value of the other crack dens around it.
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Thank you once again for the misdirecting information and your opinions. While I don’t think we disagree that Will Allen has affected the world with his work, I do know you’re once again misdirecting the point of the discussion. I challenge you to find me one bit of evidence that shows how replacing green space that is currently being used by members of the community with raised garden plots, chain link fencing (that GA likes to call “almost invisible”) and increased traffic into an upscale community would not increase crime. I challenge you to provide me a link to a website or a paper or a fact based statistical document with a timeline that can unequivocally demonstrate how replacing green space with raised garden plots that will need to be managed and leased to people that do not live in the neighborhood, would be good for the children playing soccer/football/tag in that space currently. I challenge you to propose to me how GA is planning on managing and maintaining these plots when they aren’t even organized enough to answer phone calls, return voice mail messages, provide documentation about their affiliation with their “partnership” with the city or even provide anyone with the not-for-profit charter and documentation that should be public record. Kathryn, prove me wrong and show the world GA is ready to stand up to opposition and work in conjunction with the neighborhood that donated the land to the city and will be most affected.
I'm sure that you wouldn't censor the opinions and thoughts of your readers because someone didn't like what was said. It should be noted that all information used was publically available. I don’t know about you, but I certainly would think that a topic as hot as this (relatively speaking) should play out, as that is the natural process of resolution. We are now at the part of that process where we are identifying misinformation and misdirection. As an editor I am sure you understand and have experience with this type of commentary. Let’s remember, these are only words. Words that are meant to provoke both sides to challenge themselves and provide facts, and well…. sometimes people don’t like to be challenged.
Thank you for recapping my previous comments which were obviously deleted by someone else other than me! Maybe if they just delete it...then they can claim it did not happen... I have sent a letter directly to the Mayor as this forum seems to be bias in favor of GA. I wanted to thank "Annapolis Resident" for his/her posting on the subject. Thank goodness there is some common sense out there on our side. I find it interesting that people who do not live in Annapolis or around the impacted community feel they have a right to insist their personal views must be followed just because..... To those not in the Annapolis City limit or impacted communities -- worry about your own backyard and leave ours alone!