As Metro-North trains head north up Park Avenue, passengers on board might not know they’re passing over a longtime East Harlem business.
Urban Garden Center at Park Avenue and 111th Street is located beneath the elevated tracks. Co-owner Dimitri Gatanas says he has gotten used to the rumble of the trains over the years.
What You Need To Know
- Urban Garden Center is a business located beneath the elevated Metro-North tracks at 111th Street and Park Avenue in East Harlem
- The business was founded in 1959 as a flower shop by Greek immigrant Dimitri Gravanis
- The center recently moved several blocks south because of an MTA project on the viaduct that supports the tracks
“I’m here every day. I don’t even hear it anymore. I literally don’t hear the noise,” Gatanas said.
The business was started by Gatanas’ grandfather, Greek immigrant Dimitri Gravanis, in 1959 as a flower shop on the Upper East Side. Gravanis then transformed the business into a seller of garden supplies and plants, moving to East 86th Street, and then to East Harlem. Gatanas runs the business with wife Sara, catering to green thumbs in the neighborhood and around the five boroughs.
“There’s rooftops, there’s terraces, there’s backyards, there’s courtyards, even the sidewalks people plant in — the little tree pit on the sidewalk, and people might see it but they don’t think about it. Someone actually did that, you know, and try to make the city beautiful. There’s a lot of people who are really into it,” Sara Gatanas said.
The business recently moved a few blocks south because of MTA work on the viaduct that supports the railroad tracks. It has been in the unique spot under the tracks since 2010.
The location was created as part of the city Economic Development Corporation’s revitalization of La Marqueta, the retail market opened by the city in the 1930s.
“You are taking unusable space, and you are using it and doing something different with it, and I think that’s important to realize, this could have been a parking lot, and it’s not,” Dimitri said.
Instead, it’s a place folks in the neighborhood refer to as The Garden. Dimitri said in a tough retail environment, it’s all about giving customers what they want.
“I have to tell you, I enjoy the hell out of this. It’s a lot of fun. And it’s not pretty every day, and doing business in the city is tough. Being a retailer in the city can be very difficult, but I don’t know if I am going to do anything else,” he said.