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“This is ground zero for this community,” said Mayor Bill Finch at the Green Village Initiative community farm, which is at Reservoir Avenue and Yaremich Drive. “This is where people come to grow their own food, to meet their own neighbors, to work together to literally rebuild a community.
“From these ashes that we’re standing on right now, we will regrow. We’re going to build it bigger and better than it was."
The city coordinated with Green Village Initiative to raze the one-story community building, which was destroyed on Monday in a fire.
By Tuesday, Finch, GVI and Jorge Garcia, director of the city’s Public Facilities department, were working with Bridgeport-based contractors and businesses to plan the next step.
“It hits home,” said Garcia. “We know it’s all about community, and we want to be part of rebuilding this.”
Two local small business owners, contractor Marshan Coleman and electrician Willie McBride, stepped up and volunteered their companies’ services.
“It’s a little emotional for me because I grew up on this street,” Coleman said. “I’ve got a lot of guys ready to come and donate time and materials, whatever we can do to build it back bigger and better.”
GVI is a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to creating social, economic and environmental change through local action. Through the Reservoir Community Farm, school gardens and internship program in Bridgeport, the organization is creating jobs, growing healthy local food, educating around health and obesity, beautifying inner-city areas, and empowering youth.
Monique Bosch, co-founder of GVI, said she has been astounded by the groundswell of support the group has received since the fire.
“It takes something like this to see how important a community farm can be,” she said. “When you see something like this happen and the community is devastated and mad and they say, ‘We’re going to fix this and we’re going to rebuild immediately,’ then you realize how important this is and that everybody really does care. And it’s their farm and we all feel connected because of this experience.”
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