NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — Just as Justine Burger and her fiancé, Kenneth Johnson Jr., were buying seedlings and soil to plant their garden for the fifth consecutive year, the Niagara Falls DPW ended their tradition.
“The DPW came and took all of our materials,” Burger said.
“They came and totally just destroyed my soul,” Johnson Jr. said.
Johnson Jr. and Burger told me the city removed their entire garden without warning, and that the city explained to them that the garden was a “hazard."
“I was never given a notice, never got a bang on the door, nothing," Johnson Jr., who has been forced to stay at home every day after being injured at work, said. "I have two dogs, and they are active. If somebody came to my house, I would have known.”
He and Burger said that after the garden was taken away, they then received a hefty fine.
“We received a $2,300 fine in the mail," Burger said. "The landlord received that, and because of our rental agreement, I’m liable for it. We can’t afford the material [to restart], let alone the fine, so it’s extremely frustrating."
The family garden was started in 2020 by Burger and Johnson Jr.’s 15-year-old son, Kenneth III, who was diagnosed with autism.
“He came home from school with sunflowers he grew as a class project, so he was determined to put them in the front yard," Burger said. "We started with that and worked from there. I absolutely love it. He gets so excited.”
The family started aGoFundMe asking for help with the fine. It has already raised $650.
“You can’t even begin to understand how much it means to us to have the community’s support,” Burger said.
Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino told me they will have a statement on Wednesday.
