Community members in Brownsville are coming together to create a park where the youth can grow herbs and spices, but the journey has not been an easy one.

Since 2016, Aaron Hinton's nonprofit Deuces Inc. has been working with community board members and Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel to turn a vacant lot over to the Parks Department, which would allow a community-based garden.

Ampry-Samuel says the vacant lot, which was owned by city agencies, was turned over to the Department of Education and not the Parks Department, even with the community's request.

Community members are searching for answers, and Hinton says he's been given the runaround trying to find more information.

"I can't see them possibly saying that we were unresponsive, because we have been on top of this from day 1," says Hinton.

Ampry-Samuel released a statement, saying in part, "What is happening in my district ... is something that is happening city wide. Communities starved for green spaces, youth programs, and who have voted in unanimity for this to occur are being actively blocked by the city's inaction."