Seen here in full summer splendor, the Clinton Community Garden is a stop on the May 2 Hell’s Kitchen Green Oases walking tour.
HELL’S KITCHEN GREEN OASES WALKING TOUR
Mere steps from Times Square is a road not taken by throngs of sightseeing tourists, and barely noticed by those spilling out of the bars that have been sprouting up like weeds. People who call Hell’s Kitchen home (and call themselves “Hell’s Kitchenites”) are growing all sorts of veggies, herbs and flowers in places both tucked away and in plain view. On May 2, join a group of community gardeners, activists and green enthusiasts as they casually stroll their often chaotic concrete jungle. Between sightings of rose bushes, fruit trees, garden plots and honey bees, you’ll learn about the neighborhood’s open spaces.
Organized by the Hell’s Kitchen Green Team, this walk makes stops at six community parks and gardens, from W. 45th to W. 54th Sts. The tour is part of Jane’s Walk — a global festival named for renowned NYC urban renewal foe and walkable neighborhoods champion Jane Jacobs (1916-2006). Its citizen-led tours encourage participants to share stories and collaborate on ideas to make their urban environment a more green, serene and generally livable place to be.
Free. 11 a.m.–1 p.m. on Sat., May 2. Meet by the train at the 45th St. side of Mathews-Palmer Park (btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). For more info, email hellskitchencommons@gmail.com. For info on the tour stops, visit https://www.janeswalk.org/united-states/new-york-city-ny/hells-kitchen-green-spaces/.
It’s poetry in motion, at the High Line’s “After Sunset” walk (6:30 p.m. on April 25).
AFTER SUNSET: HIGH LINE POETRY WALK
The best of its views can leave you breathless — but not at a loss for words, at least not for the talent on hand when the High Line celebrates National Poetry Month. Beginning at the elevated park’s 26th St. location, sunset strollers will encounter a series of performances capped off with a closing party featuring music, National Book award-winner Mark Doty and a cash bar (those introspective types have been known to knock it back with the best of them). Along the 10-block route, though, there’s sober contemplation to be had by drinking in the sight of passionate writers breathing life into their own words.
Sarah Gambito, Saeed Jones, Taylor Mali, David Tomas Martinez and Leigh Stein are among those offering traditional readings. American Sign Language performances by Other Voices will be based on poems by Darren Fudenske, Douglas Ridloff, David Rivera and Anne Tomasetti. Improvisational work by Wendy Chen, Mariama J. Lockington and Camille Rankine is projected onto large screens — and a group of Nuyorican all-stars including Lemon Andersen, Nancy Mercado, Maria Rodriguez-Morales, Edwin Torres and Emanuel Xavier will perform spoken word material.
Free. Sat., April 25, 6:30–9:30 p.m. Meet on the High Line at W. 26th St. (walk ends at 16th St.). Visit thehighline.org.
—BY SCOTT STIFFLER
