An estimated 200 people lined up on the sidewalk outside St. Mary's Park last Saturday for free food and clothing, part of a weekly ritual that has turned into a tense standoff between the volunteer group running it and the New York City Parks Department. Bronx Mutual Aid says officers have tried to shut the distribution down at least three times since February, and the group plans to keep showing up anyway.
The group holds its distribution on the sidewalk outside St. Mary's Park in Mott Haven, not inside the park itself, according to News 12 New York. Ché, an organizer with Bronx Mutual Aid, said the group does not enter the park, block its entrances, or interfere with park activities. During last Saturday's distribution, a Parks Department officer threatened to call the NYPD, according to video posted to social media and cited by the station.
Bronx Mutual Aid argues the Parks Department has no authority to shut down a sidewalk distribution in the first place. Juan, the group's distribution lead, said the group is on public property and doing nothing wrong. Ché went further, saying the group has repeatedly asked the department to identify exactly what ordinance or law it's supposedly violating — and that no one has ever answered.
What the City Says About Permits
A city source told the outlet that sidewalk events still require a Parks Department permit, and that the department has been in contact with Bronx Mutual Aid about hosting the distribution and will keep encouraging the group to apply for one. Bronx Mutual Aid disputes that sidewalk gatherings fall under that requirement at all, and the station's report does not resolve which side is right.
City guidance from NYC311 states that any special event with more than 20 people in a park or on a beach — including barbecues and parties — needs a permit, though that guidance does not specifically address a sidewalk distribution outside a park's boundary. Separately, the city's Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management says it's actually the Street Activity Permit Office that issues permits for events on city streets, sidewalks and pedestrian islands — not the Parks Department. Ché points to language in the city charter directing the Parks Commissioner to manage and care for parks and immediately adjoining sidewalks, but interprets that provision as covering upkeep, not permitting authority over gatherings.
A Program Built From a Single Mutual-Aid Day
Bronx Mutual Aid's weekly distribution grew out of a mutual-aid day it organized at St. Mary's Park in collaboration with Bronx Anti-War, Bronx Jail Support, Boycott Bronx Native and Juventud Unida por la Independencia (JUPI) Bronx. At that event, the groups distributed free food, free clothing and free political education to neighbors, according to a statement posted by Bronx Anti-War, with offerings that ranged from hot chili and tea to winter coats, shoes, professional clothing, hygiene supplies, tents, sleeping bags and radical zines.
A separate event listing on actions.nyc described a similar haul from an earlier Bronx Mutual Aid Day: hot food, hot tea, clothing, hygiene supplies, deodorant, toothpaste, lotion, safe sex supplies, diapers, baby wipes, tents, sleeping bags and Narcan distributed to hundreds of people. The group said at the time that its goal was to build a weekly, accessible recurring free food and clothes program for the South Bronx, especially Mott Haven.
Part of a Bigger Bronx Mutual-Aid Network
Bronx Mutual Aid isn't alone in filling gaps in the South Bronx. The Bronx had at least six community fridges as of late 2022, down from about nine in the winter of 2021, according to The City Reporter. One of those, the Friendly Fridge, was estimated to serve around 250 visitors a day and receive six to eight thousand pounds of food each week, though operators told the outlet that transport and distribution — not food supply — was their biggest challenge. Grassroots Grocery, another local operator, manages two community fridges in Mott Haven and one in Co-Op City.
Juan said he wonders whether the group's growth, and the fact that it's providing community service outside a typical institutional context, has made city officials uncomfortable. For now, Bronx Mutual Aid plans to return to the same sidewalk spot outside St. Mary's Park on Saturday and every Saturday afterward, and the group says it may look for an indoor space to use during the winter if the city helps it find one.
