Home to New York City’s Last Living Landmark, a Rare 140-Year-Old Magnolia Grandiflora, the Center Is a Home-Grown Hub of Environmental Education and Advocacy Founded by Pioneering Black Environmentalist Hattie Carthan
Donation Honors Carthan’s Initial Quote of $20,000 to Save the Magnolia Tree From Bed-Stuy’s Redevelopment in the Late ‘60s
BROOKLYN, NY (July 12, 2023) – Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso today pledged $20,000 toward repairing and saving the Magnolia Tree Earth Center. Founded in 1972 by “the tree lady” of Brooklyn, Hattie Carthan, the Center promotes environmental education and advocacy among the borough’s young people while continuing to champion the environmental stewardship upon which the center was founded. Now over 40 years since the Center’s start, Magnolia Tree Earth Center is at risk of losing to disrepair its home in the three brownstones that simultaneously serve as a community center and protect New York City’s last living landmark: an over-40-foot-tall Magnolia grandiflora that has resided on Lafayette Avenue for more than 140 years now. To help save the center, Borough President Reynoso was today joined by Magnolia Tree Earth Center Chair Wayne Devonish, NYC Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Laurie Cumbo, Council Member Chi Ossé, Assembly Member Stefani Zinerman, to announce the $20,000 grant from the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President.
“Hattie Carthan recognized that taking care of our environment was a collective act of love for one another and the neighborhoods we call home,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “This isn’t just about Hattie’s legacy of environmentalism, it’s also about what drove her advocacy: community power, nature as a force for the education of our young people, and our right to breathe clean air, find solace on a hot summer day, and walk streets lined with the same beauty that sits in the soul of Brooklyn. If we all pitch in, we can deliver on Hattie’s vision for our borough and help Magnolia Tree reach its full potential.”
The tree and the brownstones behind it achieved landmark designation in 1970 after Hattie Carthan learned that the brownstones that kept the Magnolia warm, out of the wind, and therefore alive, would be razed to make room for a parking lot and new apartments. Rarely found north of Philadelphia, the harsh winds and cold winters of New York are unlikely conditions in which the tree can typically survive. Carthan was quoted a $20,000 price tag to build a wall to attempt to protect the tree, albeit fractionally, from these northern elements. On this she later told the New York Times, “Well, nobody had $20,000—this is not an affluent community. We did think if we could raise $5,000 or so, at the same time educating our children to the value of that tree and all trees, perhaps somebody would help us with the rest of the money.” Carthan and the community soon raised $7,000, which the Horticultural Society in New York matched to the dollar. By 1976, the plans to redevelop the block had changed and Carthan was able to negotiate the purchase of the Lafayette Avenue brownstones, where she then opened the Magnolia Tree Earth Center that we risk losing once again today.
“Magnolia Tree Earth Center has been serving the community for 50 years, providing exceptional environmental and workforce development programming,” said Wayne Devonish, Chairman of the Magnolia Tree Earth Center. “Now we need the community to support us. Our amazing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is financially leading the charge and we need others to follow.”
The Center needs to raise $350,000 to pay for urgently required repairs to the front facade of all three of the brownstones facing Herbert Von King Park. Currently, the deteriorating state of the center’s façade poses a risk to public safety, and without securing the funding soon, Magnolia Tree Earth Center could risk losing the buildings. In a historically Black community facing upheaval from gentrification, rising costs of living, and other harbingers of displacement, the Center represents a Black-founded, -owned, and -led institution whose mission is rooted in social justice, self-determination, and land ownership by and for the Bed-Stuy community.
“The Magnolia Tree Earth Center is a treasure for the community of Bed-Stuy, a place that embodies the pioneering spirit of service and environmental stewardship of Hattie Carthan,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Laurie Cumbo. “I applaud Borough President Reynoso’s donation and call to action for New Yorkers to help save this important institution. Too many of our important community assets are at risk in our city – particularly those rooted in communities of color – so now is the time to step up and let everyone know how important the Magnolia Tree Earth Center is to New York City!”
“The Magnolia Tree Earth Center is a historical anchor and neighborhood centerpiece,” said Council Member Chi Ossé. “It is also a critical hub for environmental and social action. Its preservation and rehabilitation are a critical mission for this office and for the broader borough. We thank Borough President Reynoso for his commitment and look forward to securing all the necessary resources to get this job done.”