Parks to seek formal agreement with Jefferson Market Garden after 50 years of volunteer stewardship

Parks Department officials told the Community Board 2 Parks & Waterfront Committee on May that the agency has not found a formal operating agreement covering Jefferson Market Garden and will begin a process to formalize the relationship with the garden’s volunteers.

The lack of a written agreement was raised during a presentation to the committee by Parks staff and volunteer stewards from Jefferson Market Garden. Commissioner Tricia said the agency’s review “popped the hood up” and showed no agreement in place, so Parks will “in good faith . . . engage” with the garden to negotiate an agreement and involve the citywide GreenThumb program.

Why it matters: a written agreement can define responsibilities, limit liability and set expectations for hours, fundraising, maintenance and public access. Parks staff told the committee that formalizing relationships “protects the group. It protects us. It manages expectations.”

Garden volunteers described how they run the site. Susan and Michelle, representing Jefferson Market Garden, said the garden raises most of its operating money from donations, events such as weddings and joint benefits with the library, and modest grants. Susan said the group’s annual operating budget is roughly $2,150 (or about $2,300 including in-kind donations) and that paid attendants supplement volunteers to open and close the garden; they currently have two paid attendants, a corps of volunteer greeters and 22 volunteer gardeners.

On operations, Parks staff explained the differences among three common relationship models: a conservancy or friends group that enters a multi-year license and often funds major capital and maintenance; a historic-house license model used for a small number of city properties; and the GreenThumb community-garden template, which is lighter and renewed annually. Parks said GreenThumb is the easier, faster route and that GreenThumb “oversees all of our community gardens across the entire city.” Parks advised the gardeners to have legal and board review of any template and said negotiations typically take many months to a year because of legal and board review.

Committee members pressed for specific requirements. The commissioner said GreenThumb requires a minimum of 20 open hours per week during the garden season (she recalled roughly April to October) and that hours must be posted on signage; she also said GreenThumb rules cover fundraising, membership openness and limits on private rentals but that specific application to Jefferson Market Garden will be clarified during negotiations.

Garden stewards said they already track visitation (a manual clicker count the first week of each month) and reported roughly 2,500–3,800 visitors per sampled month; they noted the figures are not de‑duplicated. Volunteers also said they perform hand watering, pruning and day‑to‑day maintenance that Parks currently does not staff. Susan said Parks does not provide staff, maintenance funding, irrigation, pest control or opening/closing for Jefferson Market Garden at this time.

Parks recommended building regular points of contact between the garden and Community Board 2. Commissioner Tricia and Parks staff said they would arrange a site tour with GreenThumb and then share the boilerplate template for review. Parks cautioned that the city’s legal team is small and that finalizing a bespoke agreement could take a substantial period.

The committee and stewards agreed to continue discussions; Parks said it will return with GreenThumb staff and with updates on the template and timeline.