By Peter A. Sutters Jr.
The Trust for Public Land has agreed to purchase the Cambria Heights community garden from the Parks Department for $10 and preserve it as the open green space it has been since it was farmland.”It's in as natural a state as any you can find in Queens,” said Susan Clark, a spokeswoman for the Trust for Public Land. “It has never had a building on it.” The Trust for Public Land is a non-profit organization that has been purchasing open spaces in the city and across the country for more than 30 years and has acquired 62 gardens in New York City since 1999, including five in Queens.The land at 227th Street and Linden Boulevard has been sought after by the Trust for Public Land for many years. Now only the deeds must be transferred before the land is acquired, according to Clark. Cambria Heights Civic Association President Kevin Jemmott said he was happy the land was going to be preserved and hoped the Trust for Public Land would keep it in good order.”We wanted the Trust for Public Land to take it over for a while,” said Jemmott. “We're hoping they do some renovation.”The proposal for the purchase of the park was first brought to the attention of Community Board 13 at a September 2002 meeting when a representative from the Trust for Public Land explained the plans for the garden following a meeting with the city and state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. According to the minutes from that meeting, the Trust for Public Land will hold the deed for the property for a year and a half before turning it over to the Brooklyn/Queens Land Trust. The lease document for the property will contain language with strenuous safeguards to prevent disposition or development, according to the minutes.Reach reporter Peter A. Sutters by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext 173.
