NBC Bay Area has heard that the nonprofit that has been taking care of a popular community garden at San Jose’s Emma Prusch Farm Park has been told to leave by Monday.
But the helpers aren’t having a quiet time.
The disagreement is about a small area of the park called Emma’s Kitchen Garden. The Prusch Farm Foundation takes care of this area, which is about a third of an acre.
On Friday morning, foundation workers were seen packing up and hauling away things. The big move-out is set to begin on Saturday.
The farm is run by the city of San Jose, and the city says the foundation couldn’t agree on a statement of understanding, which the city said was necessary for the two groups to keep working together.
At a news conference on Friday morning, Sharon McCray, the head of the foundation, showed emails that showed her group was ready to sign an MOU.
However, she said that the city never followed up on the foundation’s requests to make changes to the agreement.
She also showed financial papers from the city that made her think that the eviction is because her foundation raised concerns about what she thought was money being stolen in the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“We agreed with everything in that proposed agreement,” he said. “They are getting back at us for speaking out.” Of course.” Councilman Peter Ortiz also said something about the fight.
“I feel like we should be repairing our relaitonships with organizations that have dedicated years to invest in our city,” he said.
So that’s why I oppose this decision, and I’m going to continue to do my best to make sure we’re as transparent and accountable to the community as possible.”
Prusch Farm Park is still open. As for Emma’s Kitchen Garden, the city says that park workers will take care of it temporarily while a long-term plan is made.
