Re: The NYC Garden Insurance Press Release

Thank you for posting this. I'm sure a number of gardens in New York City don't know the good news yet.

William Hohauser
President
Sixth Street and Avenue B Garden
New York City



On Apr 9, 2006, at 10:12 AM, Adam36055@aol.com wrote:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 23, 2006
No. 17
http://www.nyc.gov/parks

City Drops Liability Insurance Requirements For Community Gardeners

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe announced this week that the
City would now extend municipal liability protection to community gardeners,
thereby no longer requiring garden organizations to pay for private insurance
policies. Previously gardeners were provided with affordable group insurance
by the Neighborhood Open Space Coalition (NOSC), but, after years of rising
costs, NOSC could no longer bear the financial and administrative burden. The
announcement was first made to a gathering of hundreds of community gardeners
at the annual GreenThumb "Grow Together" conference last Saturday at Hostos
Community College.

"This decision affects thousands of gardeners who maintain over 500 gardens
on City-owned land," said Commissioner Benepe. "We look forward to providing
gardeners the support they need in order for our gardens to bloom for years
to come."

Gardeners have been required to carry private liability insurance since the
beginning of the GreenThumb program in 1978. The GreenThumb program is funded
entirely by Federal Community Development Block Grant monies, which are
disseminated throughout the City's low-income communities.

For years, NOSC provided insurance to each garden at the cost of $250 per
year. However, after a series of manmade and natural disasters, the cost per
garden rose to $425 per year.

"We want the gardeners planting flowers, not planning bake sales to pay for
liability insurance," said Edie Stone, the head of GreenThumb.

Since August 2005, the City has explored alternatives to the group insurance
provided by NOSC. According to NOSC, only seven claims have ever been filed,
and only three have resulted in payments to injured parties. Moreover, the
City has repaired sidewalks and/or fences at dozens of gardens over the last
year to reduce the likelihood of future injury claims.

In the future, claims against the City resulting from injuries suffered in
gardens will be treated the same as claims arising from incidents on all other
City land. The City is self-insured and pays valid claims out of current tax
revenue.


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______________________________________________________
The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org


To post an e-mail to the list:  community_garden@mallorn.com

To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription:  https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
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