Newark's first urban farm is facing a development quandary after eight years on city land.

It's the baby of the Greater Newark Conservancy, an environmental steward that has turned nearly an acre of land into a fresh food haven behind the vacant Krueger-Scott Mansion, a historic home on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Court Street.

Conservancy Executive Director Robin Dougherty said she wants that to continue as the city moves forward with its plans with a developer -- Avi Telyas of Seaview Development Corp., in New York -- to restore the mansion and construct a multi-residential complex with an entrepreneurial component.

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Carmelo G. Garcia, the deputy mayor/director of economic and housing development, said this isn't a problem. Jennifer Carrillo-Perez, attorney for the developers, concurs.

Both said the farm, to be managed by the conservancy, is part of the project. It would be housed in a year-round greenhouse facility on a campus setting that has a trendy plaza, 16 workshops spaces for entrepreneurs and a seven-story building with apartments that have live-and-work spaces for entrepreneurs.

The problem for Dougherty is that the farm and a greenhouse are not the same conceptually, nor are they equal in size as the city and the developer claim.

The entire farm, she said, is just under 40,000 square feet. But Garcia said the space the conservancy uses to grow vegetables could be accommodated in the proposed 7,946-square-foot greenhouse facility.

Garcia said Dougherty's position is surprising, because the city, developer and Dougherty agreed the urban farm would be in the greenhouse facility and that the conservancy would be a partner.

"In our eyes, and based on what we had discussed, she was on board," Garcia said. "We wouldn't move forward without them (the conservancy). That was one of the pieces that was instrumental to get the project signed-off on."

Dougherty acknowledged discussion about a greenhouse and a possible partnership, but she said nothing is in writing.

"The intention is there, but that doesn't translate into anything," she said. "I'm not trying to stop the developer or ruin the development. As far as I'm concerned, we don't have a space."

She's looking for a memorandum of understanding agreement, which Garcia said would occur after the site plan is approved by the Central Planning Board.

Clearly, additional conversation is necessary.

Residents get their chance at 6 p.m. today during a community meeting at Abyssinian Baptist Church on West Kinney Street. The project, a development the city believes will revitalize the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard corridor, will be presented again on Monday to the Planning Board.

Built in 1888 by beer baron Gottfried Krueger, the mansion has been an eyesore since its last owner, Louise Scott, died in 1983. When the city foreclosed on the property, vandals destroyed the Victorian-era home and the city's restoration efforts failed, wasting $7 million in taxpayer money.

The farm, however, became the bright spot and a community staple, producing 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of food annually in the Central Ward.

It grows everything from asparagus to zucchini. There are peach, cherry and pear trees, and bushes that grow raspberries and blueberries. Abundant strawberries hang from floppy stems.

Need eggs? The farm has chickens, too.

A lot went into getting the farm started for a community that has taken to its benefits. The conservancy set up youth farm stands that taught high school and college students how to market and sell the homegrown food.

Seniors from a nearby townhouse development lined up to purchase the goods. On many occasions, the conservancy gave the food to seniors for free. It also held classes to teach them to prepare meals, and often let them come to the farm and the pick fruits and vegetables they wanted.

"I'm a city boy," said Richard Dixson, 77. "I had never done something like that."

If seniors didn't want to go to the farm, 80-year-old Myrtle Gainer said, they could pick from their own garden, which the conservancy helped them cultivate.

"They taught us how to grow our own food," she said.

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The farm was for more than growing food. It was a place for residents to sit and relax, or to volunteer, like Patrick Tomlinson would do often. On a greater scale, it saved the lives of men returning home from prison. They were part of a Clean & Green prison re-entry program that trained them on the farm for landscaping and horticulture jobs.

Mark Kearney, a Newark resident who was the program supervisor, said those men were able to gain future employment when they left the program because the conservancy gave them a chance when no one else would. He knows. He was one of them.

Not only did it teach the men to eat better and help bond with their families, Kearney said, the farm was a safe zone. Street disputes, he said, stayed away from the area and the farm.

"I've seen what it can do for the community," Kearney said. "We need one in every ward.''

Now it needs a resolution.

Until that happens, Dougherty said the conservancy is taking care of what's left at the farm and looking to find another place not earmarked for development.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or

nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL