Brooklyn Grange: Growing a Greener Future Under New Leadership
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Introduction
Brooklyn Grange stands as a pioneering force in New York City's urban agriculture landscape, seamlessly integrating rooftop farming, green roofing, and eco-friendly landscaping to create more sustainable and livable urban environments.
1.5 Acre Brooklyn Navy Yard farm and 2,900 sq. ft rooftop patio. Photo: Credit Brooklyn Grange Farm
Established in 2010, Brooklyn Grange has grown to encompass two rooftop farms in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard and Sunset Park, cultivating over 80,000 pounds of organic produce annually and operating the City's preeminent rooftop farm events venue, hosting thousands of guests each year. Brooklyn Grange has also designed and installed commercial and residential urban green spaces throughout New York City on commercial and residential sites including iconic spaces like MoMA and The Met. We also maintain multiple rooftop farms for clients such as Jacob Javits Convention Center, Rosemary’s Restaurant, and Nicotra Office Park on Staten Island.
Rooftop Farming: Cultivating Urban Sustainability
Brooklyn Grange's commitment to urban agriculture is exemplified by its expansive rooftop farms. The original location, launched in 2010, spanned 43,000 square feet atop a building straddling the Astoria and Long Island City areas. This farm is now operated by the Boys And Girls Club of America, teaching the value of agriculture and fresh produce to New York's next generation.
In 2012, Brooklyn Grange designed and built a second farm at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, followed by a third in 2019 at Liberty View in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Collectively, these farms cover over 200,000 square feet, making Brooklyn Grange the largest rooftop farming enterprise in New York City.
Terrace on Broome St. NY, NY. Native Perennials grasses and flowers. Photo: Brooklyn Grange
Our unique and transformative sites provide a multitude of functions. They enrich the environment with lush plantings, meadows, biodiverse gardens, and intensive agricultural operations. Brooklyn Grange welcomes community events, private parties, company offsites, and all types of programming offering guests an immersive experience in these groundbreaking spaces that marry the best of New York’s stunning views with the beauty and richness of agricultural and native plantings.
Brooklyn Grange is driven by a steadfast belief in, and support of, our local communities. We value people, so we pay our team a living wage, and practice economic solidarity by providing low and no cost produce to local pantries and non-profits. Additionally, our farms not only produce food, but function as spaces for the local New York City and wider community to gather, ground, and celebrate in truly transformative spaces that provide all the benefits of being surrounded by the natural environment and reconnect with our food system–a steadily eroding commodity in urban cities. Humans are hardwired to spend time in nature, and our venues provide the connection to, and sustenance from, the natural world that our bodies crave.
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Our farms and green roofing residential and commercial projects utilize the latest innovations in green roof technology to optimize plant health and environmental benefits. We tailor our designs and custom select materials based on individual site features, ensuring water is managed efficiently and maximizing stormwater runoff mitigation while nurturing our ecosystems in an increasingly warming climate.
As cities continue to sprawl and urbanization continues unabated, ecosystems that once supported native and migratory pollinators and biodiversity vital to a healthy climate are literally paved over. Climate change–and the increase in heavy rainfall events it brings–render an increasingly impervious planet unsustainable.
By offering Brooklyn Grange Farm as a roof top and building landscape service, we’ve seen firsthand the potential for dramatic impact on the health of New York City. We work closely with our clients to determine their specific goals, which inform the native-first and pollinator-friendly designs we produce, restoring the original flora and fauna replaced by development over time.
Entrance to Millan House, NY, NY. Photo: Bjorn Bolinder
These plantings have a dramatic impact, particularly as climate change accelerates. Intensive roof top landscaping reduces stormwater by 50%, and has the capacity to meaningfully address a mounting flood risk to developed areas. Moreover, intensive, biodiverse green roofs like those we design have the capacity to reduce the surrounding air temperatures by 1.4°F, countering the growing threat to cities posed by Urban Heat Island effect while improving air quality and supporting the health of often vulnerable urban communities. Furthermore, our urban oases support the return of migratory birds and other pollinators that have historically relied on New York as a resting area along their migratory journey.
Depending on the type and size of installation, buildings can also receive up to 38 LEED credits for green roofing and landscaping, a major leg up in achieving Silver, Gold and even Platinum LEED status. A green roof also significantly extends the life expectancy of a roof membrane. These high impact building improvements not only raise the value of a property by 5-10%; they also improve quality of life, improving a property’s aesthetics and creating much needed amenity spaces for residents to gather, creating robust communities.
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John St. Dumbo Brooklyn, NY… Mix of perennials, flowers, native grasses. Birch tree which we like for roofs as they hold well in windy environments. Photo: Bjorn Bolinder
Reconnecting urbanites with seed and soil is our goal. Whether transforming a rooftop, rejuvenating a neglected street level space, or even improving interiors with indoor landscaping, we aim to adapt our infrastructure to a changing climate, restore our bodies, rebuild our connection to nature, and welcome back the animals that are a vital part of our biodiversity. Brooklyn Grange is striving for more resilient, livable cities one plant at a time.
Brooklyn Grange is expanding its efforts to increase green spaces within New York City. Working with building owners, developers, construction firms and architects alike, we are educating them on recently enacted local laws 92/94 requiring most buildings to add either roof top solar or green roofing whenever the roofing deck needs replacement. Additionally, Brooklyn Grange’s event spaces have, for too long, been Gotham's best kept secret. We are working arduously at expanding our efforts to promote and invite guests to our roof top farms, letting them perch high atop NYC, surrounded by lush flowering plants, rich soil and beautiful farms while sharing incredible views of Brooklyn, Manhattan and the New York’s waterways. Brooklyn Grange’s event spaces are an opportunity to celebrate family and business milestones, forge new connections among teams and transcend the every day of New York living.
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Sam Murray, the new CEO of Brooklyn Grange, joins after building a career rooted in sustainability, ecommerce and working with both consumer and industrial brands alike. He lives in NYC with his two children and multiple bicycles.
