You all will probably hate me for this, but if you would read more than just the one article that was offered you would see that the garden had already been 'decommissioned' and a new garden site was made available to the community gardeners; "improvements have been made at the alternate garden site, known as Surfside Garden, on Surf Avenue at 29th Street, including new topsoil and raised beds." (
http://amusingthezillion.com/2...) There are plenty more news items on this. Also see:
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/s...
The community gardeners knew this was coming but did not like the new site so they didn't move. The law is the law. I have to be on the side of the property owners here and think the city was more than fair in offering the gardeners a different site and making the improvements for them. It isn't every day that someone gives a group the right to use land for free anywhere, never mind that it's in New York where land is scarce and seems more valuable to some. The city did not have to give them any land and I think the gardeners should be thankful.
As far as 'the middle of the night' is concerned - construction in New York can take place all hours of the day or night. Five in the morning is not at all unusual. The crews often work at odd hours to avoid disrupting traffic.
Anyway, this is more a political and legal situation.