ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the tension that is present in the development of the institution of community gardens in the city. Whereas, a tension between the grassroots character of the movement and its decentralized and open structure that promises independence from affiliation's claws on the one hand, and the institutionalization of the movement that promises more stability and political clout. But it involves risks of mainstreaming on the other. The most important strategy in the garden's struggle is the appropriation and maintenance of space. Networking and communication represent other important strategies of the struggle. The discussion on the strategy of the struggle reveals more bluntly that the institution of community gardens in New York City is conscious of its mission and struggle. The chapter shows how the institution of community gardens develops and operates with reflexivity over its internal conflicts, central of which is between institutionalization and grassroots-ness.
