Recovery + Regeneration: NYC's Lower East Side and East Village

A historic and multi-cultural community, the Lower East Side is known for its resiliency, creativity and community spirit. Hard hit by the Pandemic of 2020, diverse participants from many backgrounds have come together to help meet urgent needs and plan for the future of this frontline community.

Proposing a site? You can use Green Map's new set of Recovery Icons - these include Public Health, Recuperation and Regeneration - or select from the Green Map Icons to highlight nature, culture, social justice and green living places.

This is Green Map System's neighborhood, and it has been a hotbed of mutual aid and pandemic recovery activities! With 165,000 residents here, there is great potential for a more equitable, inclusive and ecological way forward.

The Recovery Icons were developed in this neighborhood by Green Map System, which has been based in Manhattan's Lower East Side since inception.

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Siempre Verde Community Garden

Siempre Verde Community Garden The relatively new Lower East Side community garden, Siempre Verde, serves as a local space for community get togethers, including performances, yoga practice, community...

Green Map System

Green Map System promotes inclusive participation in sustainable community development around the world, using mapmaking as our medium. This organization created this Open Green Map platform, OGM2, wi...

6B Community Garden

A beautiful community garden with an epic performance and gathering area. Often open during the evening. Fabulous fireflies! And what a great variety of plants, many of which are labeled. Check out th...

Central Park Conservancy

The Conservancy takes care of Central Park, which delights visitors and locals alike. As of 2020, there is finally a statue depicting real women in the park, marking 100 years after women gain the rig...

Solar One

2021- temporarily programming elsewhere while construction of the East Side Coastal Resilience project is underway nearby. Now in the process of relocating for the massive East Side Coast Resilie...

Stuyvesant Cove Park

This is an amazing park, planted especially to provide food for wildlife throughout the seasons. They have turned this into a native plant food forest and its one of the few places to forage in Manhat...

The Earth School

The curriculum is centered on sustainability at the Earth School. Outdoor bins in this primary school's garden for yard waste and for students' food waste. Awesome raised bed garden on the roof. The E...

4th Street Food Co-op

A treasured place in the community - anyone can shop at this Co-op and other co-op cards are honored. Working a shift a month saves 25% on organic food! While concentrating on selling organic and loc...

6BC Botanical Garden

This is a remarkable community garden where solar powered electricity catches the sun and powers the waterfall, tools and lighting for the shed. This community garden is maintained by local residents...

M'Finda Kalunga

Named to commemorate a nearby African American burial ground, M'finda Kalunga community garden is a verdant haven for birds, turtles, butterflies and people. Founded in 1983 to address the area's lack...

The Bowery Mission

The Bowery Mission has been helping the less-fortunate since 1879, and its mission remains to provide aid to those trapped in poverty. There are many opportunities to volunteer at the Mission, and to ...

14th Street Y

The Y is a great place for fitness and health. This one even offers a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program! There has been an energy audit and a comprehensive retrofit is underway. There are ...

Avenue A L Train Station

One of many Metro Stations along 14th Street, this is the newest and it has an elevator! The MTA offers one of the fastest and convenient systems in the US. The L train crosses 14th Street and goes ac...

Union Square Park

"Opened in 1839 and redesigned in 1872 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to accommodate mass congregations of New Yorkers, Union Square Park has served as home base for countless community eve...

Soil Start Farm

Growing lots of greens and fresh veggies for soup kitchens this season, the Soil Start farm is based at Earth Matter, so it has great compost-rich soil! Yes, there are chickens! More to come, and hope...

Pier 36, a hidden public pier

A great place for active distancing, Pier 36 offers riverside refreshment and space to walk, run and bike. Access Pier 36 from Rutgers or Montgomery Street at the East River. Bonus - the south side co...

Allen Mall

14 blocks of public space, ideal for distancing on foot, by bicycle, skateboard, etc. Running from Houston Street to the East River, it's all contiguous (except the block just north of Delancey). Ever...

OpenStreet Avenue B

Open daily 8 - 8, pedestrians are flocking to Ave B, from 14th to 6th st. Great for wheelchairs, strollers, shopping carts, bikes, skates - anything that rolls too. More to come!

La Plaza Cultural del Amando Perez Community Garden

Wonderful community garden - it's the tops! Performance space, permaculture, garden plots and pond graced by Jackie Brookner's Prima Linga, the Gordon Matta-Clark Environmental Center and more....

Stuyvesant Park

Though small, this park is usually not crowded and full of blossoms, making it a pleasure to chill out in. Fountains, concerts, picnic tables etc. but no sports facilities.

Tompkins Square Park

Though small, this park is full of nature and culture. There are Redtail Hawks in residence! American Elms, now a rare species, make the park unique. A wonderful tree map can be seen on Inhabitat, too...

Williamsburg Bridge Bike Lanes

There are popular 2 way bike lanes on this bridge - yes, there are an increasing number of micromobility devices and eBikes alongside the bikes. The south side is popular with pedestrians and runners....

East River Park Walk

Check it out! Riverside refreshment from Pier 35 (the Eco Park), around the public space of Pier 36, past Pier 42 and along the esplanade through the pinch point to 23rd St and beyond through East Riv...

Caravan of Dreams

one of the best & most pioneering vegan cafes in NyC

Lower East Side Tenement Museum

A museum focusing on the urban immigration experience. Offering educational programs within recreated period rooms and walking tours around the neighborhood.