NYCHA Housing Portfolio

Bethune Gardens is a landscape designed in the spirit of its namesake: Mary McLeod Bethune, who spent her life building institutions, nurturing communities, and insisting that Black women and girls had the right to education, dignity, and opportunity. Bethune Gardens’ design reflects the belief that these communities deserve outdoor spaces that are genuinely respected, intentionally designed, and built to last. The curvilinear paths and amphitheater spaces, benches are the design’s central gesture, creating a soothing nature walk that resembles and represents the community being held in the arms of Mary McLeod Bethune, receiving the respect for the space and its residents that they asked for and deserved.

Born in 1875, she founded schools and hospitals, advised President Roosevelt on racial inequality, and helped draft the United Nations Charter. Her words —“Our children must never lose their zeal for building a better world”— are carved into flush curbing at the site and guide everything about how this landscape was created.

Tenants at Bethune were clear about what they needed: a space where grandparents could bring grandchildren, where elderly residents could walk and exercise safely, where people could gather for lunch or celebrate together, and where the grounds felt tended and respected. The design addresses each request with a calm, park-like landscape that preserves the site’s existing mature canopy trees and organizes the space around a network of curvilinear paths that encourage walking and exploration.

At the heart of it all, an amphitheater built into the existing hillside anchors the site as a natural gathering place for events and everyday life alike. Along the paths are dedicated spaces for fitness, children’s play, quiet rest, and community gatherings. Curved benches shape the landscape into a series of distinct outdoor rooms — intimate enough for conversation, generous enough for a class, a party, or a neighborhood gathering that spills across the lawn. Key-fob entry gates and clear sightlines throughout directly address residents’ safety concerns. Native shrubs and groundcovers layer the landscape with seasonal color while keeping maintenance reasonable.

 

 

This project was part of NYCHA PACT, a program that unlocks funding to enable comprehensive repairs and renovations of public housing developments, while preserving tenant rights and ensuring affordability is permanently preserved. In this project, NYCHA PACT ABM and JPLA provided comprehensive landscape design renovations for the exterior spaces of three NYCHA housing developments in New York City’s Washington Heights Neighborhood, each with unique site features and needs. In collaboration with our client, Dantes Partners, NYCHA, Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, and the consulting team, we are excited to be part of this endeavor to elevate and enhance the design of people’s living spaces, cultivate healthy living, foster recreation, and build community.