[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 145 (Tuesday, December 2, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN RECOGNITION OF EL CATANO ``LA CASITA'' COMMUNITY GARDEN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 2, 2014

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize El Catano, 
affectionately known as ``La Casita'' Community Garden, which 
celebration took place on Saturday, June 7th in celebration of the 2014 
National Puerto Rican Day Parade. In 1994, Jose and his sister Esther 
Reyes decided to look for an empty lot to start a community garden. The 
garden would be named after the Town of Catano, which is located across 
from the bay of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The lot was a rat infested 
dumping ground for garbage, needles and crack vials, before Jose and 
Esther took on the challenge and collected over 200 signatures 
throughout the immediate neighborhood to acquire the lot in support of 
a community garden. Support grew from community organizations and 
businesses, which enabled Jose and Esther to acquire the lot and to 
clean it. In 1995, La Casita de Catano Community Garden was born.
  Traditionally, there is a Puerto Rican Day Festival held each 
Saturday before the parade--New York City's third largest--along Third 
Avenue in East Harlem, with community members transforming the El 
Catano Community Garden into a celebration of Puerto Rican food and 
music. The presiding Mayor of Catano often joins local residents in the 
festivities at the garden, where a past mayoral plaque commends the 
successful work of its founder Jose Reyes--who established the garden 
20 years ago--in organizing tournaments between the El Catano Community 
Garden's own baseball team and teams in Puerto Rico.
  La Casita stood up to the Giuliani's Administration efforts to close 
the garden in favor of market rate and commercial development. In 2008, 
under the leadership of the late City Councilman Philip Reed, El Catano 
Community Garden was saved. Councilman Reed enlisted the New York 
Restoration Project (NYRP) to restore this 2,500-square-foot site in 
partnership with Denali Construction. Re-envisioned by acclaimed 
landscape designer Billie Cohen, the space--Cohen's tenth garden design 
for NYRP--features an intricate pattern of bluestone tiles in front and 
pavers arranged in concentric circles in the back of the garden. 
Additional highlights include planting beds for perennials such as 
roses and rhododendron. El Catailo's new design is well-suited to the 
garden's primary use as a community gathering space and frequent site 
of birthday parties, christenings and baby showers, as well as 
children's activities and educational workshops. In addition, local 
senior citizens use the garden to play cards and dominoes and, each 
year, NYRP partners with garden members to host a family-friendly 
domino tournament. This garden is situated in an area starved for open 
green space within blocks of 10 schools and in close proximity to five 
New York City Housing Authority properties. The densely populated 
neighborhood's residents are primarily of Hispanic, Latino and African-
American descent.
  The Board of Directors of the El Catano Community Garden remain in 
constant contact with their counterparts in their hometown of Catano, 
Puerto Rico. Every June and through the assistance of Carmen ``Puruca'' 
Ruiz they are honored to receive the Honorable Jose A. Rosario 
Melendez, Mayor of Catano during their annual National Puerto Rican Day 
weekend of activities at La Casita Community Garden.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my distinguished colleagues join me 
and the New York Congressional Delegation in paying tribute to Jose and 
Esther Reyes as they continue to maintain and keep the culture of 
Puerto Rico alive at ``La Casita de Catano''.

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