BY ROSE ADAMS
They’re taking farming to new
heights!
A group of urban green
thumbs celebrated the grand
opening of the city’s largest
rooftop farm in Sunset Park
on Sunday, where vegetable
lovers traveled far and wide
for what one woman called the
highlight of her weekend.
“I thought it was awesome,”
said Effi e Angus, 23,
who journeyed from the distant
Isle of Manhattan with
her boyfriend to check out the
sky-high pasture.
The new farm, operated by
the local agricultural company
Brooklyn Grange, occupies the
roughly 3.2 acre rooftop above
Micro Center and Bed Bay & Beyond
at the Liberty View shopping
complex on Third Avenue,
and features a 5,000 square-foot
greenhouse, a 6,000 squarefoot
indoor event space, and a
weekly farmer’s market where
locals can buy some of Kings
County’s freshest produce.
SATURDAY AUGUST 24TH
SUNDAY AUGUST 25TH
SATURDAY AUGUST 31ST
10AM-12PM
10AM-12PM
10AM-12PM
COURIER L 6 IFE, AUG. 23-29, 2019
Brooklyn Grange has operated
a rooftop farm in Queens
since 2010 and another at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard since
2012, and the massive new Sunset
Park space will not only
allow Grange to expand their
farming capacity, but also allow
them to grow year round,
according to the company’s cofounder.
“It has a 4,800 square-foot
greenhouse for increased offseason
production. We’re also
building an indoor events hall
with a kitchen so we can start
hosting events year-round!”
said Anastasia Plakias.
The Sunset Park farm is
expected to provide the area
around it with modest environmental
benefi ts by absorbing
heat and rainwater, which will
in turn mitigate heat waves and
fl ooding, according to Plakias.
On Aug. 18, New Yorkers
gathered to gawk at Brooklyn
Grange’s new digs. For Angus,
IT’S A FARM!: Effi e Angus, 23, and her boyfriend, Stu Pomeroy, 24, rushed down from Manhattan to catch
Grange’s new rooftop farm on opening day. Photo by Colin Mixson
the highlight of the event was
her tour of the Sunset Park
rooftop’s new hydroponic program,
a high-tech farming process
in which soil has been replaced
— by tubes!
“It’s a cool technology
they’re bringing in. It’s kind of
like a high tech farm,” Angus
said. “It’s really effi cient because
you don’t have to waste
any water.”
Other attendees danced
to the event’s live Afro-Venezuelan
music, and kids decorated
one of the farm’s walls.
Five-year-old Enzo Reynolds
was delighted to receive a free
packet of seeds, according to
his mother.
“He’s pretty excited to plant
seeds this weekend,” said
Alexis Ching, who lives just a
few blocks away from the new
farm.
Mom had a great time
too, and Ching noted the convenience
of having a farm
within walking distance of
her Brooklyn home.
“I go on Monday morning
to Union Square Market on my
way to work, so it’s really nice
to have this in the area,” she
said, noting that while Sunset
Park has a few farmers stands,
none are as locally-sourced,
nor as large as the one atop Liberty
View. Plus, the new farm’s
location is nothing to scoff at.
“Being able to be on a rooftop
with vegetables and fl owers
surrounded by an industrial
part of the city is pretty cool,”
she said.
SKY HIGH!
City’s largest rooftop farm
opens in Sunset Park
GERRITSEN BEACH
FLAG FOOTBALL
AGES: 6-16
4 DIVISIONS – 60 PLAYERS PER DIVISION
DIVISION DETERMINATION IS BASED ON DOB (SEPTEMBER 1ST 2019)
AND PLAYER SKILL LEVEL.
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REGISTRATION FEE WILL BE $175.00. WE ANTICIPATE TEAMS TO FILL UP
QUICKLY, SO PLEASE DO NOT WAIT TO REGISTER.
DEADLINE TO REGISTER IS 8/31/19 NO EXCEPTIONS.
REGISTRATION DATES
LOCATION: THE COURT CLUB @ 2648 GERRITSEN AVENUE.
SEASON BEGINS SEPTEMBER 15TH 2019
FOR MORE INFO PLEASE CONTACT
DAVE DRESSMAN (347)-409-8090 OR (347)-444-3019
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