When Elizabeth Quaranta began fundraising two years ago with Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP) for a community mural in Azalea Garden, she had no idea that fundraising would turn out to be the easier part of the project.

The volunteer community association’s plan was to paint a mural on the park-facing side of the wall behind Azalea garden, adjacent to Mosholu Parkway subway station, located at Mosholu Parkway and Jerome Avenue.

Their objective was to beautify a leafy corner of Mosholu Parkland, loved and frequented by the elderly, the homeless, veterans, and local residents, some of whom live in subsidized housing in nearby Tracey Towers.

“The culture and demographics of this area, mostly Black, Hispanic and people of color would greatly appreciate a mural where the main character is of color,” wrote Quaranta, FOMP’s acting voluntary executive director, in an email to the City last month.

Being very active in the community, FOMP were conscious that the corner sometimes became unsightly due to excess litter, beer cans, and spray paint on the park wall. They knew that left unmaintained, the area could also appear unsafe, and potentially deter people from using the adjacent subway station which serves the No. 4 line to Woodlawn.

It was hoped that the creation of a community mural would help curb the deterioration of the area, minimize spray painting and instead, foster a sense of pride and joy among the local community.

Now, two years later, FOMP are devastated to learn that their project has been brought to an abrupt halt because the City has denied approval for the mural.

It transpires that although the target wall borders Mosholu Parkland, both sides of it fall under the scope of the MTA, and not the City’s Parks’ department, as was anticipated by everyone involved in the project.

Indeed, FOMP work so regularly with the Parks’ department on various, outdoor community events, including regular park clean-ups, that the Parks’ commissioner for the borough, along with her advisors, had already surveyed and approved the mural site during a previous, onsite visit.

It wasn’t until recently that the group found out that approval for the mural was actually required from the MTA rather than from Parks. “We did receive funding for the mural, and we were in the process of getting ready [when] Parks’ Arts and Antiquities confirmed that the wall facing the Azalea Garden is an MTA wall and not Parks,” Quaranta wrote in her email request to the MTA on Aug. 25.

However, on Sept. 1, the MTA Arts and Design department denied the neighborhood association the required approval to proceed. Norwood News received a copy of the email exchanges between FOMP and the MTA on the matter.

In its response, the agency cited its “fair, equitable, and open selection process” for art installations located within MTA properties, and explained that opportunities to participate in the selection process are advertised publicly to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants.

“Following this process has led to consistent and equitable determinations about how art is included throughout our system,” an MTA representative wrote, adding that murals and other artwork not located within MTA stations are not included in the selection process.

The representative explained that the reason for this was financial. “They [any artworks outside a station] would require additional resources and maintenance,” she wrote. “As you are likely aware, the MTA and its subsidiaries are facing an unprecedented financial crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact on ridership and other dedicated revenues the MTA relies on to operate and to conduct successful community outreach, like the outreach involved in MTA Arts and Design projects, has been profound. We are currently facing a four-year deficit of over $16 billion.”

Quaranta replied on Sept. 2, expressing her disappointment and heartbreak at the agency’s response. She said that having read MTA Arts and Design’s application process, she didn’t think their specific project fell under its scope. Nonetheless, she explained again that FOMP already had funding for the mural, but that receipt of the grant was contingent upon the mural being completed by December 2020.

FOMP had even decided on a name for the new mural. It was to be called “The Aquarium,” since the veterans who sit in the nearby park area had shared with FOMP the enjoyment they derived from their own aquariums in their respective homes. FOMP came up with the idea of a larger-than-life aquarium for the mural to channel an atmosphere of familiarity and belonging.

Quaranta explained that there were more plans for the area too. “The mural would also help improve this location off the Mosholu Parkway station as we will be proposing to Parks’ to have the sitting park area dedicated to a community leader who passed away from colon cancer a few years ago,” she wrote.

She also pointed out that FOMP had already been maintaining the park side of the wall for over five years, removing any spray paint, and generally keeping the area clean, never realizing that it was MTA’s responsibility to do so.

“Commuters throw trash from the steps as they either go up or down,” she wrote. “The process of having all that area cleaned up daily would be to make many and on-going complaints to the MTA, and follow that process. However, we don’t do that. We clean it up without going through the MTA complaint process.”

A photo of what the wall currently looks like, as well as an illustration of the proposed mural was provided to the MTA, and Quaranta also offered to meet with the Mosholu Parkway MTA station manager to discuss the project.

She asked for clarification on what additional resources and maintenance the mural would require. “Maybe we can discuss to alleviate that concern,” she wrote. “A contract would explain that the MTA would not be held responsible for maintenance or to provide other resources. We can sign to that.”

In closing, Quaranta said she felt that FOMP were being more than fair, that COVID had changed many uniform processes for everyone, and she appealed to the MTA to rethink their request and see that the mural would serve as a positive, uplifting initiative for a community, hard-hit by the pandemic and going through a difficult time.

By Sept. 4, FOMP confirmed that no response had been forthcoming further to Quaranta’s last email dated Sept. 2. Norwood News reached out to the MTA for comment on the matter on Sept. 8.

An MTA spokesperson provided the following response. “The core principle of the MTA’s arts program is that works are commissioned through an openly advertised selection process accessible to all members of a community, with selections made by a diverse panel including arts professionals, MTA staff and local community members. While we regret that the pandemichas prevented us from establishing a formal mural program, our longstanding process hasconsistently led to equitable determinations about how art is included in the MTA system.”

Norwood News referenced the initial response from the MTA dated Sept. 1 about the lack of resources for the maintenance of the mural, and how FOMP had addressed that point in their reply on Sept. 2 and had offered to put in writing their commitment to maintaining the upkeep of the mural. We asked the MTA to clarify if FOMP’s offer addressed this point therefore, and if the sole reason for the denial of their application was now the requirement for “an openly advertised selection process.” As of the time of publication, we have not received a response.

In the meantime, FOMP have launched a petition requesting written support for the mural and have collected 89 signatures to date.

“They need to rethink their usual process when we aren’t in usual times,” Quaranta said. “We are almost appalled that the MTA would rather do nothing during this time and are using their budget cuts as an excuse for stopping any program that doesn’t require their involvement besides a release of liability form.”