The Mayor of Ithaca turns his prime parking spot into a little plot of green. Our Tamara Lindstrom tells us why he made the makeover.

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ITHACA, N.Y. -- It's a small patch of parkland in an unlikely space.

"I'll be out here watering it on the weekends," said Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick.

Myrick says he was struck by inspiration when some college students pulled off a plot of their own.

"They fed the meter for an entire day, just fed coins in it. Rolled out turf, put down flowers and took over the space. And I thought it really changed the whole street," Myrick said.

And the mayor's prime parking spot at city hall was going to waste.

"I love to drive a car," Myrick said. "But most of the work I do is within a two mile radius. So I thought the least I could do was give up my car and I sold it about three years ago now."

Now the mayor has opened his own tiny park space, complete with salvaged benches and repurposed tree stumps. He hopes this mini oasis will send a big message.

"I hope people will take a personal inspiration away," Myrick said. "Maybe they'll think they personally can do something that will change the environment around them. And I hope the second thing they take away is the city of Ithaca is taking matters of sustainability and open space and urban space extremely seriously."

Or at least take a quiet break in the city's littlest unofficial park.