Faux Public

The Monterey ‘Public’ Garden is a public garden that anyone can access, located on 96th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. However, it is evident this is only partially true as there seems to be a clear distinction between the individuals who reside in The Monterey, located adjacent to the garden, and visitors to the garden.

 

I had the chance to visit the garden on two occasions, Wednesday, March 29th 4:05-4:50 PM, and Thursday, March 30th 6:30-7:00 PM. Both days experienced similar weather, the only notable difference was that it was sunny on March 29th and cloudy on March 30th. My methods were simple, I sat myself in one part of the garden that enabled me to have full visibility of the surroundings. I recorded the times of when people came and left the garden, alongside what they were doing. The garden itself was well maintained and well lit for the evening and night.

On March 29th, I entered the park at 4:05 and noticed that multiple people were already at the garden. Nothing was out of the norm, there were people chatting, relaxing, and kids were playing around. As time went on, I noticed that two men were blatantly smoking in the garden. This garden specifically prohibited smoking, one of them was directly sitting next to a sign that read “Smoke Free Area.” No one seemed to mind, as the men weren’t confronted by anyone. Law enforcement even walked by without saying anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March 30th saw a rather different experience, there was little to no activity in the garden itself. No one was there when I arrived at 6:30 PM. Similarly, no one was there when I departed at 7:00 PM. The only human interaction with the garden was a man walking his two dogs. He noticed the park at 6:37 PM and his dogs were keen on entering, but he prevented them from doing so. He returned at 6:49 PM with his dogs and looked into the garden, but continued walking. There are multiple signs within the garden that read “No Dogs.”

 

The most peculiar thing was that I noticed multiple people had a specific walking pattern from one part of the garden, retreating all the way to the back of the garden. This walkway was special as it did not contain stairs, it was an incline down. Multiple people trotted along the walkway in both directions throughout both periods. This walkway lead to a sign that read “Monterey Sports Club” with an arrow sign, and a turn to the right would cause you to read a sign that says “Members Only.” Beyond the placard was an expanded area containing tables, even more seating, and an entrance to a specific part of The Monterey, which I assume would be the sports club. It all made sense as to why there was a lack of visitation. This clear divide between the garden and the exclusive area gave off the feeling that people were not welcome if they were not tenants of The Monterey. Further research into the garden shows that the declaration of a public status was a stipulation to begin construction of the high rise for which the garden is named after. To remedy this I suggest turning the area that is members only into an open community space. It allows the ‘public’ vibe of the garden to extend into the entire area, rather than just the street’s facade. If anything, a possibility would be allowing the public to use the Monterey Sports Club with a fee, similar to other recreational centers. This would remove the exclusionary sentiment this garden has and incorporate it into the East Harlem community.