The Children's Magical Garden del Carmen Rubio was founded by Alfredo Feliciano and Carmen Rubio over 25 years ago. It was a rubble-filled lot, home to drug addicts and dealers, filled with garbage and rats - - for over 12 years at least at one time in history. The lot sits between TWO SCHOOLS, but the Lower East Side was a neglected place in those days and neither the land-owner or the city could be moved at that point to clean up that space or do anything to correct the situation. Carmen and Alfredo did, and not only did they use their blood, sweat and tears to make the garden a magical, growing place... but the neighborhoods children came together to help too... planting over time the fruit trees, flowers, and plants of all kinds that flourish here today. according to the web site the city owns a portion of the land and is considering selling the land to developers.