Niagara Falls shuts down family garden; fines them $2,300

UPDATE: Group members have poured of their help for Justine Burger and Kenneth Johnson Jr.’s household. Donations have paid their $2,300 nice from the Metropolis of Niagara Falls. You possibly can learn extra right here and watch our up to date report under.

Group members assist Niagara Falls household pay nice after DPW shut down their household backyard

ORIGINAL: Simply as Justine Burger and her fiancé, Kenneth Johnson Jr., had been shopping for seedlings and soil to plant their backyard for the fifth consecutive 12 months, the Niagara Falls DPW ended their custom.

“The DPW came and took all of our materials,” Burger stated.

WKBW / Justine Burger

“They came and totally just destroyed my soul,” Johnson Jr. stated.

Johnson Jr. and Burger instructed me town eliminated their whole backyard with out warning, and that town defined to them that the backyard was a “hazard.”

“I was never given a notice, never got a bang on the door, nothing,” Johnson Jr., who has been forced to stay at home every day after being injured at work, said. “I have two dogs, and they are active. If somebody came to my house, I would have known.”

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He and Burger stated that after the backyard was taken away, they then acquired a hefty nice.

“We acquired a $2,300 nice within the mail,” Burger said. “The owner acquired that, and due to our rental settlement, I’m answerable for it. We are able to’t afford the fabric [to restart], not to mention the nice, so it’s extraordinarily irritating.”

The family garden was started in 2020 by Burger and Johnson Jr.’s 15-year-old son, Kenneth III, who was diagnosed with autism.

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“He came home from school with sunflowers he grew as a class project, so he was determined to put them in the front yard,” Burger said. “We started with that and worked from there. I absolutely love it. He gets so excited.” 

The household began aGoFundMe asking for help with the fine. It has already raised $650.

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“You can’t even begin to understand how much it means to us to have the community’s support,” Burger stated.

Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino instructed me they may have a press release on Wednesday.