Bedford Park Boulevard
and Jerome Avenue


Andrea Dezsö
Community Garden, 2006
glass mosaic mural and installation throughout station
MTA Art for Transit

 

The area surrounding the Bedford Park Boulevard Station is a busy urban neighborhood with dominant street colors—red, brown, and tan of the many-storied buildings, and gray of the pavement. The extremely wide avenues, the bridges, train tracks, overpasses, garages, tire shops, a laundromat with a beautiful broken neon sign from the thirties, an old bakery, a couple of modern high-rises in the distance, a few small convenience stores, and the occasional small family house give the neighborhood its urban industrial visual flavor. The residents of this area don’t see very much of green nature as they walk to and from the train station. 

Nestled in this active area is Herbert H. Lehman College—a beautiful campus with trees, flowers, squirrels and birds. The idea of a Community Garden came to the artist, Andrea Dezsö, during a walk around the area of the Bedford Park Boulevard Station when she noticed the contrast between the bucolic campus and the surrounding urban area.  This was the starting point for her imaginary garden for urban travelers.

Now, as commuters enter the station or exit it, they are confronted by a delightful fantasy garden of intense color, with playful images of oversized fruit, vines, a grasshopper, a ladybug, blue and green beetles, and enchanting animal forms. For a brief time they can enjoy the serenity of an idyllic country garden. 




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