Garden, Play Area Replace Weeds in W. 140th Street Lot
A City College of New York (CCNY) graduate student’s capstone project has led to the creation of new community space for residents of two buildings in central Harlem.  Two adjacent empty lots on W. 140th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Malcolm X Boulevards are being transformed into a garden and play area thanks to the initiative of Dawn Mikkelson, who earned her Master of Public Administration degree in May, and her mentor, Dr. Jean Krasno.

“This began as a theoretical idea,” said Ms. Mikkelson.  “I never anticipated we would produce a real garden.” 

Ms. Mikkelson, a native of Minnesota with an interest in community-driven policy-making, last fall surveyed central Harlem to identify all open spaces in the neighborhood.  For her spring 2010 semester capstone project, she and two classmates did further investigation to learn whether development was planned for the properties and what agencies and nonprofits...