When community activist Karen Washington rallied residents of her hardscrabble Bronx neighborhood to till cracked concrete into rows of vegetables, herbs and vibrant seasonal flowers 21 years ago, she found there was more to seed than just empty lots.
There were also a number of social issues that had taken root — a lack of affordable housing, high unemployment and illegal drugs, all plaguing the streets of Crotona, East Tremont and West Farms.
Washington, now 55, knew that gardens foster community pride, partnership — and activism. So when Mayor Rudy Giuliani tried in 1997 to auction off 700 established community gardens citywide, she embarked on Plant the Vote, a voter-registration campaign.
The next year, Washington, a physical therapist with a master’s degree, founded La Familia Verde (green family), a coalition of community gardens and urban farmers that advocates preservation. The group soon branched out, working with NYC Census 2000 and Health Fair to target low-income residents.
And when no farmers’ markets would come to them, La Familia Verde established its own organic market to serve a community starved for fresh greens.
Washington, who grew up in housing projects on the Lower East Side, is on the New York Botanical Garden’s board and has put in 21,800 hours as a volunteer with beautification projects.
She has been nominated by the city Sanitation Department for a New York Post Liberty Medal in the Lifetime Achievement category.