Upper East Side preschool students devastated after vandal destroys sidewalk corn garden

Upper East Side preschool students devastated after vandal destroys sidewalk corn garden By Crystal Cranmore Friday, August 21, 2026 9:19PM Crystal Cranmore has the latest on the damage and the search for the suspect. UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- The owner of a preschool on the Upper East Side says her students are devastated after a vandal destroyed the sidewalk corn garden they had been caring for since April.

The students from Mis Amiguitos Spanish Montessori School were just weeks away from harvesting the corn, when surveillance cameras captured a man uproot the crop on Monday and toss them in the trash.

"Some of my students began to cry, couldn't understand why someone would do this," said Mily Caballero, the CEO and owner of the school.

The incident happened around noon on Sunday. The NYPD is investigating it as an act of criminal mischief.

Caballero says this is not the first attack on the garden and that someone stole $1,000 worth of guard rails the school brought to protect the space. Flowers have also been squashed.

"We feel targeted at this point for sure," she says.

This is, however, the first time Caballero has complained to police.

"This is a lesson for them to just keep going - lif your head up and keep going," Caballero added.

The garden has been an integral part of the Montessori program.

"We accidentally grew pumpkins at Halloween, thinking nothing of it," Caballero says, "by the summer we had pumpkins and that's how our journey started. We did sunflowers for a few years, this year corn."

The plot has turned heads since it bloomed after the COVID pandemic.

As police continue their search for the suspect, Caballero purchased surveillance cameras hoping to deter any future acts of vandalism.

The NYC Parks Department says this week it helped restore the pit and added some mulch, sprouting renewed joy in these blooming gardeners.