Itty Island: 2 Chelsea Residents Build Community Spirit in Tiny Garden

Gardening in Manhattan is not for the faint of heart. But Alex Chapman and Pete Fehn have enough heart to conquer the myriad obstacles of city botany with their debut of Itty Island, a charming little enclave of nature in the heart of Chelsea.

Located at 24th Street and 10th Avenue, the cement median framed a formerly-neglected little patch of dirt. When Alex and Pete noticed it from their nearby home, their inner green thumbs began to throb.

Those thumbs developed early: Chapman and Fehn have both always had a connection to gardens, but for slightly different reasons. For Alex, it started very young. As a five-year-old, he basically harassed his neighbor to let him garden with her, which fostered a yen to garden with his parents: dividing in spring, watering in summer, raking in fall, and then spending winter desperate for seed catalogs or anything garden-related to get him through.

Fehn’s father was a passionate gardener, which cultivated an emotional appeal for him. Today, leafing through his dad’s old gardening books—annotated, with article clippings tucked inside—felt like connecting.

Neither are originally from New York City (Fehn is from Bellport on the East End of Long Island and Chapman from Hatfield, PA) but have made Chelsea their home, and this garden has become an integral part of that. According to Fehn, “unless you are very lucky, gardens are usually something you pass through or admire from a distance. You don’t often get to get your hands dirty,” which is something they both missed.

The frumpy little patch of dirt caught their eye as they passed it constantly, and eventually it felt impossible not to do something. They began cultivating it just three months ago, preparing for the worst—trash, litter, maybe even vandalism—but shockingly, so far, have found very little of that.

The most surprising thing they found was the soil itself: it was gorgeous, rich soil with little to no debris, which this author and fellow gardener can hardly believe. But other obstacles abound: there is no convenient water source (the bane of all urban gardeners). Enter Luli, the super of the adjacent building, who was already watering and caring for his building’s tree pits on the west side of 10th Avenue. For Chapman and Fehn, Itty could not exist without him. He not only keeps it watered—he cares for it like it is his own. He has become head waterer, consultant and head of security for the garden. As Chapman puts it: “Every little public-facing space needs a Luli.”

And maybe that was the first sign of how this garden would engage the community. Pat, a flight attendant whose apartment overlooks the island, ran downstairs to meet them the moment she saw them turning soil. Later, a trip back home to the Midwest brought them lupine. Now she texts updates from above, in sniper-surveillance position (perhaps Luli’s henchman), and has become a true friend. That is basically the whole story in miniature: it’s not just a garden, it’s an anchor.

Another acquaintance is Parker, a recent grad, who said the project made her feel inspired to be more part of the community and ended up helping with plant-tag stamping techniques. Demitra is their self-proclaimed number one fan, who intercepted them when they put out little bunches of dried yarrow from the garden for neighbors to take, telling them how much joy the island brings her.

And then there are all the people who are part of the garden even if they are not directly contributing: neighbors whose names are unknown but whose faces are now recognized because of this one little patch of dirt.

Deciding what to put in that dirt drew upon Alex’s a trained design eye and horticultural knowledge through both his professional work in the fashion industry as well as exterior design and garden work for private clients. Pete works in marketing analytics, so he’s more on the public relations side and spreading the word about Itty (which has it’s own IG following, including NYS Senator Erik Bottcher). The site is small, exposed, surrounded by concrete, and subject to all the usual New York pressures: wind, direct sun, salt runoff in winter, human and canine interference, and no built-in water source. The hot is hotter and the cold is colder when you are surrounded by concrete, so plant choice required research.

Because they did not yet know how fortunate they would become with Luli’s help, they initially leaned toward plants that could survive in a dry garden—plants that could be somewhat self-sufficient but still beautiful, in a natural, meadowy sense. Nepeta, or catmint, is a hardy workhorse and provides billowing structure, contrasted with the soft, broad leaves of the Stachys, or lamb’s ear, among other plantings. Texture, height, and seasonal longevity further directed their choices, with a preference towards pollinators and natives.

Another thing that makes it very special is the prism they have installed, a lucite quadrangle that illuminates at night. Their best friend and neighbor Mike helped construct it, and it has thus far, astoundingly, evaded any graffiti or vandalism. Its iridescent glow is a glimmer of hope for the neighborhood.

As for the name, Little Island was taken by the 2.4 acre artificial island at Pier 55 in Hudson River Park. And at just fifty square feet, the garden is just a sliver of that size. But so far it is making a big impact, and Alex and Pete have big plans for things to come. Oftentimes they say creating something takes a village. In Chelsea, apparently it takes an island.