The fight over a community garden in Queens is getting thornier.<\/p>\n
The attorney for the anti-Israel leaders of Sunset Community Garden in Ridgewood withdrew their state lawsuit against the city and the Parks Department \u2014 to make a federal case out of the issue.<\/p>\n
Since last fall, Jewish Ridgewood residents haven\u2019t felt welcome<\/a> at Sunset Community Garden, thanks to the garden group\u2019s pro-Palestinian rhetoric, which included a special section labeled \u201cPoppies for Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n Some local residents said they do not feel welcome in the community garden, whose leaders asked incoming members to pledge \u201csolidarity\u201d with the people of Palestine. Instagram @sunsetgardenridgewood<\/p>\n Incoming members are also made to pledge \u201csolidarity with the oppressed and marginalized people\u201d of Palestine\u201d<\/a> by the garden\u2019s management. <\/p>\n The Parks Department wanted the group out<\/a>\u00a0by June 6 for \u201cviolat[ing] the terms of their license\u201d with the \u201cunconstitutional wording\u201d of their \u201cideological litmus test\u201d for membership, according to court documents.<\/p>\n The group responded with a state lawsuit in early June to block the eviction, and The Post was in the courtroom when attorneys for both sides met in court this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Jonathan Wallace, the garden leaders\u2019 attorney, withdrew the state lawsuit Monday, and told the city he plans to refile the case in federal court, a source said.<\/p>\n In a letter this week, the lawyer accused Judge Hasa\u00a0Kingo of allowing the \u201cscurrilous\u201d New York Post\u2019s coverage to guide his rulings in court.<\/p>\n \u201cThe plaintiffs in this case are a community group composed largely of trans people of color, many of whom are immigrants, and who share a powerfully-rooted moral opposition to the horrifying violence committed by a political entity, the nation-state Israel, against the people of Gaza,\u201d the letter read. <\/p>\n Attorney Jonathan Wallace objected to coverage from The Post. Michael Nagle<\/p>\n The garden\u2019s leaders are fighting the city\u2019s efforts to oust them. Helayne Seidman<\/p>\n